“People have been troubling me and demanding money. My death should not go waste and other farmers should benefit due to my death,” Lal said in a video recorded before his death. In his suicide note, he placed the blame for his death squarely on the shoulders of the leadership of the state government – namely, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot.
“The promise by the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot that they will waive our loans was broken,” Lal’s friend and fellow farmer Shyopat Ram Megwal said during protests sparked by the farmer’s death. “They have completely turned their backs on us which led to suicide…At the time of the elections, political parties promise a lot but never fulfil them on the ground and this is demolishing the hopes of the farmers.”
Megwal’s statement was apt; deaths like Lal’s are depressingly common throughout India and many feel betrayed by successive promises to help them that go unfulfilled. This desperation has, in numerous instances, led to farmers taking their own lives. In three decades, the death toll among farmers due to suicide stands at 59,300. Between 2014 and 2016 alone, 36,332 farmers and farm labourers committed suicide.
This budget no doubt contains a number of gestures towards the state’s agriculture workforce, but it is unclear if it will quell their anger. The Congress government in Rajasthan is being accused of failing the farmers despite their leader Rahul Gandhi vociferously demanding justice for farmers of his constituency, Wayanad, in Parliament
Discontent among farmers was apparent in the run-up to this year’s Lok Sabha polls. Agrarian rallies and protests were held. Some farmers went so far as to contest elections themselves. This did not stop a landslide for the governing BJP; one farmer leader even lost his seat in Maharashtra. This does not mean, however, that the issues beleaguering farmers nationwide have disappeared. Now, with the announcement of Rajasthan’s state budget, there may be hope in the state for farmers like Sohan Lal Kadela – but it remains to be seen if these will amount to more broken promises.
Contact details for mental health support in India can be accessed here.
If you are suicidal or experiencing suicidal thoughts, visit your nearest hospital or contact AASRA on 91-22-27546669 or Sneha India on 91 44 24640050 helpline. A list of other suicide helplines can be accessed here.