Peasants, Policies and Politics

Beyond the rhetoric of an emerging economic superpower, India still remains a largely agrarian country with almost half the population dependent on agriculture. The neglect faced by the sector has resulted in India being witness to a persistent agrarian crisis for the past 20 years. Changes in governments, at both the state and central level, have not resulted in resolving basic issues that mar agriculture as an activity. In this session of the Policy Inclusion Debates Series, a collaborative effort of CES, IIC and The Wire, experts discuss the causes, implications and possible solutions to the persistent crisis. As the new government takes oath, we hope somebody is listening.
Speakers:
1. Utsa Patnaik - Utsa Patnaik is an Indian economist. She taught at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning in the School of Social Sciences at JNU, from 1973 until her retirement in 2010.
2. Siraj Hussain - Hussain is former Secretary of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (GoI) and currently Visiting Senior Fellow at ICRIER.
3. Ajay Vir Jhakar - Ajay Vir Jakhar is Chairman of Punjab State Farmers Commission and the Chairman of Bharat Krishak Samaj (Farmers’ Forum, India).
4. Arindam Banerjee - Arindam Banerjee is Assistant Professor at the Ambedkar University Delhi. Click here to support The Wire: https://thewire.in/support