Save The Farmers A FUND RAISER TO PREVENT FARMER SUICIDES IN MAHARASHTRA (JAYANT BHOPATKAR: SEATTLE MAHARASHTRA MANDAL)

Background Fact: India is an agrarian country with more than 60% of the population directly or indirectly depending on agriculture.

Historical Data  Farmer suicides started in the late 1800’s: mostly due to unjust taxing by the British  Suicide rates have increased since  In 2004, India recorded the highest number of farmer suicides: 18,241.  Farmer suicides account for 11.4% of all suicides  Maharashtra recorded the highest number of farmer suicides in India  Vidarbha and Marathwada regions the most affected in the state; Yavatmal district leads all districts in these regions

Reasons  Monsoons  Too little to No rain  Too much rain  High Debt burdens (due to illegal lending practices)  Failures of Genetically Modified (GM) crops  Family problems  Expenses for marriages of children  Drinking, gambling  Govt. policies and political affiliations  Public health, chronic illness

Repercussions  Increased poverty: unsupported families due to demise of primary bread-earner  Increase in crime  Lower chance of educating the children of farmers due to child labor  Lower national production leading to poorer self-reliance and economy  Farmer revolts

Fixes  Prevention of farmer suicide  Providing psychological support to cope with trauma  Providing support to families to repay debts and/or fight the legal battles with creditors  Irrigation and other agricultural measures  Self reliance  Grow own seed  Grow own fertilizers  Better farming principles  Rehabilitation and Livelihood support (other professions)

Who is helping?  BMM and Maharashtra Foundation is jointly appealing to all local Maharashtra mandals across North America to do individual fund-raisers  Maharashtra Foundation’s Adopt a Widow program  NAAM (Nana Patekar and Makarand Anaspure project)

Nana Patekar, Makrand Anaspure, Akshay Kumar suicides-it-is-time-for-a/article_28a65d20-4c21-11e5-bacd-a794fb4bcc1d.html suicides-it-is-time-for-a/article_28a65d20-4c21-11e5-bacd-a794fb4bcc1d.html “Paisa is a by-product. I will get it anyway. Rs 10 crore or Rs 100 crore won’t give me security. I feel secure by doing this. It is only a bandage on a huge wound. But in the process I am securing that human being that is still alive in me. Everyone will forget me if I stop acting in films. You won’t come to interview me, but I know that those people (farmers) will remember me for life,”

The Ask  Make a tax-deductible donation check to SMM with “FARMER” in the memo line.  SMM will collect all funds and provide it to the joint efforts of BMM and MF  All funds go directly to the support agencies in India  Drive starts today:  SMM Aarti collection  SMM donation (will match up to $500 collected today)  Individual donations  Employer matching, donation receipts

Thank You!  Please direct any and all questions to or Thank You, and God Bless You!

Appendix

Case Study #1: maharashtra-father-commits-suicide-teenage-daughter-s- future-in-dark http:// maharashtra-father-commits-suicide-teenage-daughter-s- future-in-dark A land owner and labourer from Nanded, Keshav Kadam had incurred a loan of nearly Rs 5 lakh, which he was unable to pay as the rain skipped his village Konda year after year. He left behind a family of six, including his elderly parents, who have nowhere to go.

Case Study #2: future-of-my-kids-looks-bleak-says-marathwada-farmer- gangubai-dandge http:// future-of-my-kids-looks-bleak-says-marathwada-farmer- gangubai-dandge Marathwada farmer Balu Dange was pretty upset at money lenders constantly harassing for a debt of Rs 40,000 that he wanted to return but couldn’t because of lack of crop…

Case Study #3: we-are-slowly-forgetting-festivals-says-marathwada-farmer- suryakant-kundre http:// we-are-slowly-forgetting-festivals-says-marathwada-farmer- suryakant-kundre “I do not know how to go on living," says farmer Surykant Kundre, who toils with his wife on a 1-acre arid land. Surykant

Case Study #4: we-now-eat-only-once-a-day-says-marathwada-farmer- sumitrabai-bhade http:// we-now-eat-only-once-a-day-says-marathwada-farmer- sumitrabai-bhade Farmers, who used to provide food for everyone else, have become beggars. I now cook only once a day, says Sumitrabai Bhade, widow of a farmer who commited suicide.