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‘The lockdown killed my father’: Farmer suicides add to India’s virus misery
Karan Deep Singh, The New York Times
Published: 08 Sep 2020 02:11 PM BdST Updated: 08 Sep 2020 02:50 PM BdST
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Farm bankruptcies and debts like the one that tormented Singh have been the source of misery in the country for decades, but experts say the suffering has reached new levels in the pandemic.
“This crisis is the making of this government,” said Vikas Rawal, a professor of economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, the capital. Rawal, who has spent the past 25 years studying agrarian distress in India, said that he believes thousands of people who live and work on farms have most likely killed themselves in the past few months.
After India’s lockdown was extended for the third time, Singh became convinced he would never pull himself out of debt with the economy shut down, his family said. “He kept saying, ‘It won’t open now,’” said Paramjeet Kaur, his widow, wiping away tears. “Now, what will happen to us? Who will feed us?
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Karan Deep Singh, The New York Times
Published: 08 Sep 2020 02:11 PM BdST Updated: 08 Sep 2020 02:50 PM BdST
snip
Farm bankruptcies and debts like the one that tormented Singh have been the source of misery in the country for decades, but experts say the suffering has reached new levels in the pandemic.
“This crisis is the making of this government,” said Vikas Rawal, a professor of economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, the capital. Rawal, who has spent the past 25 years studying agrarian distress in India, said that he believes thousands of people who live and work on farms have most likely killed themselves in the past few months.
After India’s lockdown was extended for the third time, Singh became convinced he would never pull himself out of debt with the economy shut down, his family said. “He kept saying, ‘It won’t open now,’” said Paramjeet Kaur, his widow, wiping away tears. “Now, what will happen to us? Who will feed us?
more...