'I realised why the farmers and the rural folks are going for Trump. They are so insecure and vulnerable that anybody who is throwing a line of hope to them, they seize it.'
Karnataka Minister for Sugar and Agriculture Marketing Shivanand Patil's statement that farmers wish for repeated droughts in the state so that their loans get waived has caused a stir, with the opposition on Monday terming it as an 'affront' to the farming community and seeking his removal from the Ministry.
Aseem Chhabra ranks the Best of 2025's films that released in theatres, or went directly to OTT platforms.
Criticising Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government for its "insensitive" approach towards farmers, Congress leaders on Thursday gave Rs 1 lakh each to family members of three farmers who committed suicide due to crop failure early this month.
Ten more debt-ridden farmers have committed suicide in Vidarbha over the last three days, a non-governmental organisation active in the region and government officials said on Wednesday. Six of them, including a woman, belong to Yavatmal district, Kishore Tiwari, President of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti said in a statement. The NGO said all the ten farmers were under heavy debt. Other suicides were reported from Nagpur, Akola and Washim districts.
The Tamil Nadu government filed a reply in the Supreme Court on Friday stating that no farmer had committed suicide in the state, and clarified that those who have, took the extreme step due to personal reasons.
Even as the Uttar Pradesh government has flatly denied suicides by farmers in any part of the state, state chief secretary Alok Ranjan on Tuesday admitted that the untimely rain, thunder and hailstorm in large parts of the state had caused tremendous loss to the standing wheat crop to the tune of over Rs 1,100 crores.
While Washington remains paralysed by interest group politics, billions in India stand to bear the brunt of global climate change, which is certain to result in food shortages, lack of potable water for a majority of the population, flooding of the Ganga and other rivers due to melting glaciers, and an unsustainable exodus of millions from the countryside to the urban centers.
Thousands of TMC supporters thronged the rally route, waving the party flags, raising slogans and holding aloft colourful posters.
Gujarat agriculture department on Wednesday said that 89 farmers committed suicide in the state in the last four years, while claiming that crop failure was not the reason behind the extreme step in any of the cases.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya and editors of some Kannada news portals have been booked for allegedly spreading fake news linking a farmer's suicide to land disputes with Waqf Board, police said on Friday.
Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf does a comparative analysis of suicide numbers released by the NCRB. Data: Hemantkumar Shivsaran/Rediff.com.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal apologises for not stopping the event and making a speech after the incident.
"State stands on the position of a loco parentis to the citizens and when there are so many deaths of farmers in the state of Tamil Nadu, it becomes obligatory on the part of the state to express concern and sensitiveness to do the needful and not allow the impecunious and poverty stricken farmers to resign to their fate or leave the downtrodden and the poor to yield to the idea of fatalism.
Akshay Kumar, Arshad Warsi and Saurabh Shukla are in top form in Jolly LLB 3, applauds Deepa Gahlot.
The states recording the highest number of such deaths include Karnataka (14.3 per cent), Maharashtra (13.2 per cent), and Madhya Pradesh (11.3 per cent). Tamil Nadu (9.4 per cent) and Telangana (7.5 per cent) were the other two in the top five.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a 70-year-old Punjab farmer leader, is on his 21st day of a hunger strike demanding the Indian government address farmers' concerns, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops. His health has deteriorated, and doctors have recommended immediate hospitalization. However, Dallewal, a cancer patient, has refused medical treatment.
As many as 116 farmers have committed suicide due to agrarian reasons so far this year, with maximum cases reported in Maharashtra, followed by Punjab and Telangana.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav likened Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to an infiltrator, saying he is from Uttarakhand and should be sent back to the state. Yadav also criticized the BJP's governance and alleged injustices against Dalits and backward communities.
Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate is under fire after a video surfaced allegedly showing him playing rummy on his phone during a legislative session. The opposition accuses the government of being insensitive to farmers' issues.
As many as 278 farmers committed suicides in the first 10 months of 2010 due to agrarian crisis, with Maharashtra and Karnataka reporting the maximum number of such incidents, the Parliament was informed. In the whole of 2009, 897 farmers had committed suicides across the country.
The highest farmer suicides have been reported from Beed district
34 farmers and farm labourers committed suicide on an average every day in 2014, reflecting the deepening agrarian distress in several parts of the country.
Ajit Roy, 42, a resident of Ullora village in Memari, jumped in front of a train at Rasulpur in Burdwan.
The suicide note also stated about "foul language" used by people associated with a cooperative society and threat by lenders (finance firms), a police officer said on Monday.
Remarks by Congress and NCP (SP) leaders in Maharashtra suggesting the term 'Sanatani terrorist' have sparked a controversy, drawing strong criticism from the BJP, which accuses them of 'Hindu hatred' and 'appeasement politics'.
Speaking at a public meeting in Nanded of Maharashtra, he said within 10 days, the BRS' party vehicles will go to every village in all 288 assembly constituencies in Maharashtra to form farmers' committees.
The remarks come at a time when Maharashtra is reeling under an agrarian crisis with 124 farmers committing suicide in the state since January this year.
The incident comes close on the heels of a Sikh preacher, Sant Ram Singh, allegedly committing suicide near the Singhu border last week as he was "unable to bear the pain of the farmers".
Owaisi criticized the court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, saying it weakens India and distracts from real issues like inflation and unemployment.
Bir Singh Yadav, from Bahlolpur village in Noida, enacted the "symbolic suicide" at the Dalit Prerna Sthal where he has been camping along with scores of protestors belonging to the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lok Shakti).
Anticipating that severe flooding may become more frequent due to global warming, a WHO report said that independent studies in cyclone-affected Orissa and a flooded town in England has shown that post-traumatic stress disorder syndromes of different severity in affected people even after an year.
Over 25 crore workers across India are set to strike against new labour codes and privatisation, potentially disrupting banking, postal, and other essential services.
The incident that came to light on Saturday came days after a farmer was beaten up by the police in the state over non-payment of loan.
Having made farmer suicides a campaign issue, Modi and the BJP should have no complaints in now having to live with it, says Aakar Patel.
Owaisi said 324 farmers have died by suicide in "Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) division", but no one is talking about it.
The United Progressive Alliance government had to face some tough questions in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Watch all the action live!
Ishwak Singh's earnestness and the rustic energy of his mates keeps Mitti engaging, even when it starts to get preachy, observes Deepa Gahlot.
The minister was explaining to bamboo growers of Ponnampet how profitable the agriculture business is, but some cowards do not realise that and commit suicide.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances