Mass Candlelight Vigil on October 2nd, 2007 to support Indian farmers and Agriculture - * Please Participate *!
Bharat Uday Mission - National Executive
Bharat Uday Mission with AID India announce
Mass Candlelight Vigil and Protest on October 2nd, 2007 to support Indian farmers and Agriculture
To Highlight the Indian Agrarian Crisis! Save Farmers, Save India !
Why
Indian Government has completely failed to protect our Farmers' interests. Farmers in India are in extreme social and economic distress. With huge inflation and raising input costs but lesser and lesser price for his production has left him in neck-deep debts and huge social and economic distress!
Suicides of Farmers in many states of the country are nothing but a reflection of the Agrarian Crisis that has engulfed the country… Government policies have resulted in complete breakdown of the rural ecosystem … In a country where 70% of the population is directly dependent on agriculture, this is intolerable!
What
Mass Candlelight Vigil and Protest on Gandhi Jayanti to support Indian farmers and Agriculture and Solidarity Hunger-strike.
Where
Everywhere! … Join in the protest wherever you are ! Call all to join us..
More than 40 cities already participating .. get registered at http://agri.aidindia.org/node/12 to show our solidarity with the cause!
Goal
Let Indian Government know that we will not tolerate this injustice to Indian Agriculture and the farmers and they have to protect their interests.
Let's stand up together on Oct 2!
For Our Farmers, Our Sisters and Brothers in distress!
Plan of Action
First: Sign up for solidarity Hunger strike and vigil here: http://petitions.aidindia.org/october2/index.php
Second: Please organize to hold a vigil in your BUM chapter city. Pick as many public spots as possible, talk to people around there, distribute the above pamphlate among people. Protest in a peaceful manner. Host documentaries, short films (some links given in the Literature). Coordinate with the AID-india members in your city and all willing organizations.
Third: Please SPREAD the word in all possible ways and bring more people to join in to show solidarity to our farmers. Get your BUM chapter registered at http://agri.aidindia.org/node/12.
Fourth: Invite people who have been activists in this area to speak in the protest and in other programs that you may organize.
Literature
Agrarian Crisis in India: http://agri.aidindia.org/node/7
P Sainath's (Magasaysay award winner) articles:
http://www.indiatogether.org/opinions/psainath/suiseries.htm
Documentary: " I Want my father back" – On the Agrarian Crisis in Vidarbha (Maharashtra)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6063387598655207801
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1482107411279204352
Documentary: An IAS officer talking on the issue http://video.google.com/url?docid=8832149543261604706
Documentary: P Sainath at University of Massachussets and others http://video.google.com/url?docid=5578288341126886347
Farmer's suicides: http://video.google.com/url?docid=-1551578811813630239 http://video.google.com/url?docid=668636749757446165 http://video.google.com/url?docid=1400566991335926014
(Videos can also be obtained from abhi...@gmail.com, rishikes...@gmail.com, cbal...@gmail.com, spna...@yahoo.com )
Literature:
Introductory writeup by somu kumar (AID India)
"The Lord gave us farmers two strong hands so we could grab as much as we could with both of them", said Joseph Heller - such a thoughtful statement, indeed. A Farmer tills not for himself but for the entire World and the World will certainly be unimaginable without farmers. He sweats in his land to put food in our table and we share such natural connection with him. When we are very happy to be receiving his fruits of labor and are thankful to him, we have failed to look out for his wellness and prospects.
Indian Government has completely failed to protect our Farmers' interests. Farmers in India are in extreme social and economic distress. In our mad rush in 'development' path, we certainly have left behind our farmers who are facing oppression from our very Government, which is not providing them the minimum support and the giant corporations, which are taking away their indigenous seeds and pushes them into state of despair. With huge inflation and raising input costs but lesser and lesser price for his production has left him in neck-deep debts and huge social and economic distress.
This situation has led farmers to take extreme step of suicide, but not before his years of fighting this social discrimination and call for support, leaving the families in acute pain and dismay. Our apathy and lack of action and support is the main reason for this mounting tragedy, which has claimed an estimated 100,000 poor farmers to have killed themselves over the last ten years in India's "suicide region" – it was 1,442 farmers who ended their lives in 2006 in the Vidarbha region alone and over 560 farmers so far this year; many more farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab. The man/woman, who feeds us every meal, cannot put two square meals to his/her own children. What a sad irony?
If we don't wake up from our slumber and stand up for farmers' 'Right to Live', farming community will soon be extinct and so will human race. Let us connect our food directly back to our farmers and look out for his well-being. On October 2nd, birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who always put farmers as heart of our nation, we will act together for our farmers. This Candlelight vigil across the globe is a show of solidarity and support with our farmers as well as to send a strong message to Government that we will NOT tolerate this indifference anymore.