Agrarian culture is dying in India

History

India had always been an agrarian land. We were so much dependent on agriculture and nature that we gave the animals a very reverent position in our day to day life. We respected them and honoured them. We even related them with the gods, as they helped us in garnering our livelihood. We have a relationship that dates back almost 8000-9000 B.C with agriculture.

Dangers

Contribution of agriculture in GDP is declining in an alarming pace. It was 30% in 1990-91 which reduced to almost half, 15.7% in 2008-09 (according to Indian Council for Agriculture Research). Since the agriculture sector is not so promising these days, people are migrating to other sectors for livelihood. We can't blame them, for they can't sustain their day to day needs of life with profits from agriculture. Moreover the fast growing industries (Industrialisation) are acting as magnets for those who want to earn decent livelihoods. Agriculture sector can't compete with them, at least presently. The consumption rate of food become high but the availability is declining. We can't neglect agriculture, because it is the backbone of any society.

Our agriculture sector is dominated by small land holders. Therefore the the quantity they can produce is also very low and the risk factor is high. But the problem is, the rate of food consumption is rising alarmingly. Agriculture business should be taken seriously by the government and by the people. Corporates should invest more in this sector. This is high time they should show their social responsibility.

Even though i am strictly against globalisation, it would open up enormous opportunity for food, food products, etc and will introduce more quality and competitiveness in this sector. But in our present condition it wouldn't be wise to allow foreign competitors to enter into our market. First we need to be ready. For that we need to be organised. The government need to provide a proper infrastructure for the farmers, like logistics and supply chain.

Is there a solution?

Since our society is facing a dangerous situation, we should face it boldly and everyone should be ready to take responsibility and must be ready to do some small sacrifices. We can always save our land by living in flats, thereby contributing towards increasing land for agriculture. One should avoid buying land for housing purposes. We can also take a socialist approach by, making agriculture the main priority of the states which are more suitable for agriculture, geographically and climatically. Those other states which are not, should encourage more industries.

The bloodsucking Yakshi

When I was a kid, April and May fell in the list of my favourite months. Not because it's going to rain and there would be mud all around, but those are the months my cousins would be here at our family house, in our hometown in Kerala. Those are the memories I would cherish forever. My grand-mother has 5 offsprings, 4 boys and a girl. My father is the second eldest of five. Then, he was the only one staying in Kerala and everyone else was in different parts of India, a Pan-India Family one could say. We were all present, it's like Parliament, shouting, laughing, scolding children, people everywhere, busy doing their chores. An outsider entering the home can still go unnoticed. Life was less complicated then. We were just ........just ourselves. Everyone you valued dearly is with you. It's like, the world has shrunken to a square block of bricks and mortar. Now it's all feel like a fairy-tale, one of the best things about joint-family. We are all tired of day's

THE EPIC - where to draw the line?

India is the land where history and myth get intertwined in such a way that you cannot say which is which. One of India's gift to the world of literature is her majestic epical wonder " Mahabharata ", attributed to some one(might be one person or many) called Vyasa or Vyas ( Ved Vyas ) which literally means one who dissected 'Veda' (religious and philosophical writings of Hindu religion). Research on this great epic revealed that many appendage had been done to the original text , before it became whole. Mahabharata's impact on Indian psyche is so profound that people consumed every word of it as such. Characters were being worshipped as role models, like modern day Bollywood stars. As the generations passed by, line which divides the story and reality started blurring. Stories told and retold, appended stories that were not present at the beginning happened, kind of regional versions. Many dynasties and empires came and gone everyone tried to leave t

Dream Catcher

Baby was cooing subtly while lying in her bed. Her eyelids are twitching quickly, and she seems fidgety. making tiny noises as though she's dreaming. Her tiny, chubby arms and legs are up in the air, perhaps grasping for something. "Don't worry, little one" a cool breeze swept the room, whispering softly to the baby. The dream-catcher that was hanging on the door began to cling to the wind. Baby's face is now serene. Her tiny legs and limbs are now at rest. She let out a small smile and a chuckle. She is enjoying her dream. She can hear dream-catcher singing to her. " Oh.. creator of this mighty universe, Please watch over her in your righteous way. Be with her now, and guard her smile for eons to come "

TeamgsquareNovember 23, 2011 at 5:10 PM
Nice take on the subject , we too always think on same line .Actually there is something called land use classification , based on this classification one can decide what can be done on that land . But these classification are just for the sake ,not being used properly .
SujithNovember 25, 2011 at 10:29 AM
Thanks and it is good to know that there are others who are also concerned. And thanks for mentioning "land use classification", it is a new thing to me.

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