I
n this paper, we situate farmer suicides in the larger context
of the agrarian crisis in India, based on our fi eldwork
in Maharashtra and Punjab.1
In the fi rst section, we outline
the overall context of India’s agriculture, as ascertained from
various government reports and surveys. In the subsequent
sections, we present observations from the fi eldwork conducted
in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, and Sangrur district of
Punjab, and analyse the preconceived dissimilarities and
observed similarities in these two apparently diverse zones.
Drawing connections between farmer suicides, landholding
patterns and outstanding debt, our narrative approach emphasises
the kinship dimension of indebtedness, which creates a
greater social and moral obligation to repay loans that are
borrowed from relatives. While highlighting the shame of
indebtedness, we argue that there are multiple factors that
conjointly account for such tragedies, including faulty cropping
patterns, rising input costs, nature of borrowings and
informal sources of credit, as well as the aspirational consu mption
of farmers who often borrow money for non-agricultural purposes.
As formal credit sources are not equal to the task of
serving farmers, a large number of individuals who were not
traditionally associated with lending have entered the moneylending
business.
The concluding section recommends reformative measures
to encourage an integrated policy framework on agrarian matters,
particularly cropping patterns and institutional credit
disbursal systems.