South Asia: India, Giant of the Subcontinent - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 233

drought on at least half of the country' s farm districts.
Also, floods ensued as the monsoon dissipated. Agricul-
tural output has shrunk and food prices have risen. Life
will be very difficult for millions. However, the economy
will not collapse as agriculture now accounts for only a
17 percent share of national output, down from 40 per-
cent in the 1980s.
Rural electrification, expanded to all but 80,000 vil-
lages (out of 580,000) by 2004, plays a significant role in
pumping and other aspects of water control. Unfortu-
nately , mismanagement has resulted in intermittent power
supply in some areas and weeks of blackouts in others.
Those without access to the power grid—about
55 percentof the population—must often walk long dis-
tances to buy a few liters of expensive kerosene. The
United Nations Foundation states: “Kerosene used by
the poor for lighting is often unaffordable, unavailable,
unsafe, and unhealthy….”
A solar-voltaic pilot project in Karnataka has trans-
formed the lives of some 100,000 people living in
poverty-stricken rural regions. The systems supply a few
hours of power in homes or shops to run small appliances
and provide improved reading light. This lighting has
been credited with improvement of grades for school-
children. T Two leading Indian banks, the project' s original
partners, are supplying low-interest, small loans for the
personal power systems that could be paid over five years
at their 2,000 branches throughout the country .

Probably the most significant problem for rural
dwellers is debt. Fueled by crushing debt, failing crops,
and government indifference, thousands of desperate
farmers have been committing suicide in the hope that
their family will get a small government pension. An es-
timated 17 thousand farmers took their own lives in
2006, many by drinking pesticide, jumping down a well,
or self-immolation. These men epitomize India' s “agrar-
ian crisis.” In 2006, Oxfam, an international charity , pub-
lished a study arguing that the farmers' plight was
exacerbated by their, “indiscriminate and forced integra-
tion” into an “unfair global system.”

Murari's Debt

Probably the most significant problem for rural
dwellers is debt. Look at the case of Murari, a 30-
year-old farmer who lives in a village with his fam-
ily . He began his career as a contract laborer five
years ago for a Thakur —a dominant-caste farmer.
The Thakur is a moneylender for many of the area' is
villages. Murati took out a loan of 1,000 rupees and
contracted to work for five years on the Thakur' s
land for 5,000 rupees a year. Murari' s food, housing,
and miscellaneous expenses were provided by the
moneylender, who kept a record of these things.
After two years of labor, Murari owed the
Thakur 250 percent more than he had originally
borrowed due to accumulated interest and charges
for his housing, etc. Despite this situation, Murari
was not permitted to go elsewhere for a job that
paid more money . The moneylender had “people”
who would track him down with serious conse-
quences for him or his family . After five years of
work as a farm laborer and now a house-servant as
well, Murari owes 8,000 rupees to the Thakur . Mu-
rari, and others like him, find that they are virtually
powerless once they enter the vicious cycle of con-
tractual labor where they are subject to the ex-
ploitation and tyranny of the landlords.

THE VILLAGE
T Two-thirds of Indians live in rural villages. Unfortu-
nately , most of them are very poor. Nearly 300 million In-
dians suffer from malnutrition and do not know where
their next meal is coming from. A major failing of the
government is its inability to provide food subsidies for
those living below the poverty line. People are supposed
to acquire special ration cards but having to pay bribes to
get them is a common occurrence.
Kerala and Tamil Nadu do well in terms of getting food
to their poor. Other states such as Bihar do not. In fact, 40
percent of 75 million Biharis who hold ration cards are not
even classified as poor. Furthermore, more than 80 percent
of available food is stolen. The all-India average varies be-
tween one-quarter and a half of all food being stolen. Gov-
ernment warehouses hold billions of tons of food, much of
which is rotting, in case of widespread famine. When there
are food distributions, they all too frequently do not reach
the right people because corruption, ethnic rivalry , and
caste discrimination pervade and pervert the system.

Bhimrao Ambedkar was the country' s first Dalit to be
educated abroad. A graduate of Columbia University , he
was the principal author of India' s 1950 Constitution. In
fact, Ambedkar is more well known than even Gandhi
within India. This is what he thought of the Indian vil-
lage: “The love of the intellectual Indian for the village