Research
Agrarian Crisis India: An Aftermath of the New Economic Reforms
The National Crime Records Bureau of India reported in its 2012 annual report that 135,445 people committed suicide in India, of which 13,754 were farmers (11.2%). Of these, 5 out of 29 states accounted for 10,486 farmer’s suicides (76%) – Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. In 2011, a total of 135,585 people committed suicide, of which 14,207 were farmers. In 2010, 15,963 farmers in India committed suicide, while total suicides were 134,599.In 2012, the state of Maharashtra, with 3,786 farmers' suicides, accounted for about a quarter of the all India's farmer suicides total (13,754). From 1995 to 2013, a total of 296,438 Indian farmers committed suicide. During the same period, about 9.5 million people died per year in India from other causes including malnutrition, diseases and suicides that were non-farming related, or about 171 million deaths from 1995 to 2013.Farmer suicides rates in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh – two large states of India by size and population – have been about 10 times lower than Maharashtra, Kerala and Pondicherry. In 2012, there were 745 farmer suicides in Uttar Pradesh, a state with an estimated population of 205.43 million.
The Hidden Transcripts of the Slums
A slum is a compact area of overcrowded population, poorly built congested dwelling condition, unhygienic environment usually with inadequate infrastructure and lacking in proper sanitary and drinking water facilities. Living conditions in slums have a direct impact on people’s health. One of the major challenges that face urban planners globally is the proliferation of slums in urban areas and the host of health hazards that they bring along with their wake. However, the prolific spread of slums has been a rampant problem in urban areas worldwide. Eventually, the extent and spread of slums in India not only help us to recognize that they are not anomalous and pathological phenomena on the urban landscape but also a manifestation of urban poverty that is still predominant in the urban economy. This study is an attempt to unfold the underlying problems of development of slums.
