Resolution on Farmers’ Suicides

The number of peasants committing suicides has increased phenomenally. This is particularly so in Vidarbha, AP & Punjab. In past 10 years several thousand peasants all over the country have committed suicide. In Maharashtra alone the number is almost 7000. From June 2006 to end of December, 900peasants had committed suicide. Cotton cultivators have been particularly affected.


The Central and State Governments are diverting attention by placing the blame on loans for wasteful expenditure, poor crop/output, family and other psychological tensions. The financial package announced by PM Manmohan Singh is nothing but a cunning attempt of the finance department to befool the masses. While the peasants did not get a paisa the money went to cooperative banks. Hence rate of suicides has increased.


The real cause for these suicides is the pro-imperialist globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation policies pursued by the governments. These policies have led to the reduction of subsidies for agricultural inputs and low prices for agricultural products. Facing losses, peasants were forced to take loans, first from banks. When banks stopped giving loans they turned to money-lenders. More than 60% of loans are from private money lenders. Failure of MNC Monsanto's BT Cotton Seeds was the final straw. A section of farmers' leaders like Sharad Joshi had already betrayed the peasants by supporting globalisation. Disheartened farmers have turned to suicides. These are in reality killings by a government acting in the interests of the imperialists.


Unity Congress-9th Congress of CPI (Maoist) strongly opposes the pro-imperialist policies of the government and expresses its heartful sympathies with the peasants and appeals to them not to resort to self-destruction but to wage militant struggle, to organise and refuse to repay all debts and to join the ongoing revolutionary peasant war.


This Congress calls upon peasants to demand that all debts of peasantry be waived, agricultural subsidies be restored, investments in irrigation and other agricultural needs be increased, proper prices for agricultural products and ban on MNCs like Monsanto and their GM Seeds, and opposes the policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation.


Only New Democratic Revolution will solve the problems of the peasantry. While struggling on immediate demands we pledge to organise the vast masses of the peasantry to intensify the armed struggle to overthrow this semi-colonial, semi-feudal system.