INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
part at a protest in New Delhi yesterday remorsed that their children do not want to take up farming seeing their parents plight, as
protestors raised slogans to protect "farming legacy".Dubbed as the largest farmers' protest and congregation in the capital, around 35,000
farmers, from across the country, converged at the Parliament Street police station on November 29 after their march was stopped by the
administration.They are in Delhi to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.Ramaswami Sella
Perumal, a farmer from Tamil Nadu, who had undertaken a 36-hour long journey, and was wearing two skulls of his relative who had allegedly
committed suicide, said he has two children, who are studying."They do not want to become farmers
They see what kind of difficulties we are facing
Many of our farmers have committed suicide
It is saddening that our children do not want to take up something that runs in our family," Mr Perumal said, as he broke into tears.Mukut
Singh, a farmer leader from Uttar Pradesh concurred with Mr Perumal and said their children want to gain good education and a private
job."Our children want to study well and then get a good job
Even statistics say 40 per cent of farmers have given up farming and our children obviously do not want to take it up because they see how
we are fighting for our rights," he said.A farmer leader from Haryana, Phool Singh Sheokand, said, "Our children are ready to sit in a shop
and earn Rs 5,000 but they do not want to become farmers
This sentiment is there among the children of many farmers and they cannot be blamed."Farmer leader BM Singh also spoke about the issue on
the stage and even gave the slogan, 'We have to bring our children into farming and ensure that the farming legacy does not die'.The
farmers, social activists and political leaders slammed the Union government alleging that it has not implemented a "single major
initiative" for farmers int he past four and half years.In Delhi, the protesting farmers were joined by various political leaders including
Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav, CPI(M) leader Sitaram
Yechury, CPI leader S Sudhakar Reddy, AAP MP Sanjay Singh and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah apart from Mr Gandhi.
