Debt Suicides in India
May 6th, 2008 by SocProf and tagged Poverty, Social Exclusion, Social Inequalities, social marginality, Social Stratification, Structural Violence
Via the BBC, the latest side effects of the food price crisis:
“India’s agriculture minister has rejected calls for additional debt cancellation for millions of farmers. In February, the government agreed a $15bn scheme to write off the debts of millions of small farmers – those with less than two hectares of land. But there have been demands from opposition and some governing coalition parties to extend the loan waiver to farmers who own more land. Farm activists say debts have been driving many farmers to suicide.
At least 10,000 debt-ridden farmers have committed suicide in India each year over the last decade – and activists say hundreds more have done so in recent months, despite the aid package. Rejecting the demand, the federal agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar, said the government was not in a position to take on new responsibilities. Drought, a fall in crop prices and an increase in the cost of cultivation are cited as reasons for the farmers’ plight. Many farmers have been forced to take out loans to buy necessary supplies, but these have left them heavily in debt. Some turn to moneylenders, who charge much higher rates of interest than banks.”
It is not a new issue, just one made worse by the current crisis. I have blogged enough on microcredit to underline how much access to credit is central to survival in many poor areas. Without access to legitimate credit, poor peasants in Asia have no other option than to use moneylenders who charge them usury interest rates. One of the major persistent forms of slavery in India is debt bondage, which can be passed from generation to generation.
Posted in Development, Economy, Education, Microcredit, Poverty, Slavery, Structural Violence | No Comments »
