CREATING ALTERNATIVES

A WIDE CANVAS

CREATING ALTERNATIVES

Variety is the very life of agriculture

"Do not put all your eggs in the same basket" is a proverb we have all heard, even those of us who don't eat or even touch eggs. Yet this is what we as a nation, as a society, as even a civilisation do now, all over the world.

Whether it is food, fashion in clothing,life-style , we are induced to use the same products, adopt the same standards. In cultural matters, we are fed the same 'values'- if we can really use that word. In economics, it is the same 'policies', in politics, the same slogans. Two areas where we see this very distinctly are the cultivation of crops- our food, and cultivation of mind- our education.

Before the so called Green Revolution, agriculture was marked by variety in almost everything- from seeds, practices to storing and marketing,not to mention the varieties of food stuffs used, and the variety in cooking and even eating! In my school days I used to notice not less than about 20 varieties of rice in the local grocers' in a small town. Rice came in all sizes, and even different colours- one variety called 'Manavaari' in Tamil was almost red, different in shade from the unpolished , now called 'brown', rice. Some varieties were yellowish. One variety called 'milagu samba' was a very small grain, while the 'kudirai (horse) samba' or the 'onnarai  (one and half)samba' was long- longer than the much touted Basmati now. 'Tuyyamalli' was a fat, white fellow! The 'Kichadi samba' was the king among the middle class, and the variety from Attur (Salem dist) was made famous in a film song: 'let us get and sow the kichadi samba from Attur'.

But that is not possible. The Attur kichadi samba got its name from the place, but it also got it qualities from the distinct nature of the soil, the local water, the minerals in the soil and water, the mini-climate prevailing in the region, the distinct practices of the local farmers, some almost unnoticeable by the outsider, etc. It signified the combination of nature, nurture and the farmer's culture! The seed can be sown anywhere, but it is not certain that the crop would grow , or grow as well or will taste as well, elsewhere.

Work by dedicated individuals

The local varieties in crops- not only rice, but in almost everything, were innumerable. Any one who has some acquaintance with agriculture knows that soils are not uniform over large areas, and they would not support the same crops or the same variety of them throughout. This variety was the strength of Indian agriculture historically. The great English administrator Sir Albert Howard was struck by the variety he saw in the Raipur region- over 1000 in paddy alone, and was also impressed by the practices of the farmers there, including the way they made their own manure. He noticed the 'scientific' spirit behind them, and later, he commended them to his own countrymen back in England. Those  who are interested in the questions of the quality of food and food security, should read his book "An Agricultural Testament".

Image taken from the Web. Copyright position not known. Used here as a mark of gratitude and respect- as I want all Indians to know about this great man.

After his great work in India for over two decades, he retired to England in 1931 and advocated methods for using ( recycling) all the plant and animal waste. He is reckoned as one of the pillars of the organic agriculture movement.

I am sorry to say not many Indians have done that sort of original study- the rare exception being the late Dr. R.H.Richharia,who was  hounded out by the officialdom.He collected and documented over 19,000 varieties of rice in India. He estimated that India had been home to over 2,00,000 varieties! Sadly, he did not oppose the introduction of chemical-based agriculture, or the hybrid varieties on which it was based, but his advocacy of indigenous varieties and small farmers was enough to range the powerful international lobbies against him.He was eased out at the instigation of an American director of the Rice Research Institute at Manila, one Dr.Chandler who had direct access to our minister.

Dr.R.H.Richharia 1909-1996

American conspiracy, and Indian collaborators

NOTE:

India, like the rest of Asia, is predominantly rice-dependent. International lobbies have been eager to control this grain, so that they could eventually attain economic control. The US is the chief thief here.One of its former Agriculture Secretaries, Earl Butz, had openly said: "If food can be used as a weapon, we would be happy to use it." They set up the International Rice Research Institute (with money from two other international thieves-the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations) in Manila, the Philippines. (even though America is not a big rice producer or consumer). Dr.M.S. Swaminathan gave up his powerful  and sensitive position in GOI and joined this as Director General in 1982. The gene details of all our rice varieties, from the painstaking work of Dr.Richharia, found their way to the Institute in Manila, controlled by two American private foundations. He is thus a villain who has betrayed the interests of India.

(Full details of this can be seen in the article "The great gene robbery" by Claude Alwares, which first appeared in the Illustrated Weekly Of India, March 23, 1986) India today has no secrets or security in respect of rice production at all. If India is really Bharat Mata, she will never excuse one like Dr. Swaminathan or call him 'son'. Do you remember the film "Mother India"?

This is a warning to our PM, Modi. In coming close to the US, he should be careful what he discloses or discusses.

Green revolution, and distress

The great advantage- secret strength- of the richness of this variety was that over the centuries, each type had adapted to the local soil and climate. The same pests could not attack them everywhere- so it afforded natural protection against damage by pests without resort to chemical pesticides.

The Green Revolution  changed all that. We have hybrid seeds - so called High Yielding Varieties- it started with IR-8, IR-10 etc. Natural compost was replaced by chemical fertilisers, supplemented by pesticides and other chemicals. Monoculture started here, killing bio-diversity. Independent farmers who grew their own seeds now became dependent on 'seed' producing  companies, who introduced varieties like 'Terminator' seeds in cotton. But now, we have gone far ahead- to GM crops. But the Green revolution itself has withered, the high-yielding varieties proving to be high-distress dispensers.

Indian farms have been typically small. In the era of planning, beginning in the 50s, every govt. economist and administrator and their stooges condemned 'subdivision and fragmentation' as the cause for all our agricultural ills. This was of course a mere echo of the collective farms of the USSR and also the huge farms of the US. Huge farms facilitated mechanical operations. But they also demanded uniformity- so the practice of 'Monoculture' started: the same crop was grown over thousands of acres.

This is indeed a kind of 'agricultural totalitarianism'. The disastrous consequences of these practices were first brought to our notice by the American Gandhian -Richard B.Gregg. (See his book: Which Way Lies Hope). He was phoo-phooed by our official economists, scientists and bureaucrats. Today, these are scientifically documented with incontrovertible evidence, but the powerful corporate lobby effectively blocks the dissemination of this knowledge.They have pocketed the govts. too.

Richard B.Gregg.

Creative Commons. 3.0

Image taken from www.quakersin the world.org.

Over the years he advocated non-violence, organic farming and ecological awareness. He coined the term "Voluntary simplicity".


MNC control over agriculture

Dr.Vandana Shiva

It is only a handful of committed activists- like Dr.Vandana Shiva who still carry on the struggle against the combined forces of official ignorance and apathy, and vested MNC lobbies. But our shameless national English press has no space for them. But in the West, public awareness and protests are rising.

 Protests against GM crops and the MNC 'Monsanto' in this "March against Monsanto" Vancouver, Canada.ByRosale Yagihara from Vancouver,Canada.
CC BY-SA 3.0 http:// Creative commons via Wikimedia commons.

And protests at Stockholm. 

By Sigurdas (Own Work) CC BY-SA 3.0 Creative commons via Wikimedia commons.

And in Washington D.C.
By John Serrao CC BY-SA 2.0 Creative commons via Wikimedia Commons.

Controlling the minds

The same developments are now taking place in the area of mind culture- education. Internally, the syllabus is govt-controlled, uniform and monotonous. The text-books are govt. controlled and produced. The examinations are govt. controlled and certified. This is the position from the primary classes up to the university. There is thus neither variety, nor real alternatives.Universities are mushrooming , but the stuff they teach is the same, the methods they follow, the ideology they promote are all the same-dancing to govt or corporate tunes. And now it is computer education even in the elementary schools! Since education is controlled by the state, we won't have alternatives.

In the pre-Independence days and for some years thereafter, we were mainly influenced by British standards and practices in education, especially higher learning.Gradually, our students started going to the US in large numbers in preference to the UK. The US emerged as the ideal all over the world. It is their standards and practices which prevail now. Thus our youngsters follow the American usage even in English language.

In the hard sciences, this does not matter, and is not avoidable.. But when it comes to humanities and social sciences, this leads to serious distortions. The West looks at the rest of the world with their own eyes, and perceives everything not their own in a distorted manner. In sociology, anthropology, economics, politics, religion and philosophy, culture and ethics- in everything which impacts our daily life, gradually it is the American perspective that comes to prevail. Not only our Kautilya and Kalidasa, even our Valmiki and Vyasa will be interpreted for us by Americans. This is already happening, with wealthy Indians like Narayanmurti funding Americans to translate (interpret) our classics, including religious works.

Does India have the will or the power to think of creative alternatives?

Note: 

I have written about rice in  some detail- I could have done that about wheat too- because it is our main food article in the South. And it pains me no end to think that three South Indians have been responsible for the betrayal of our interests willy-nilly: C. Subramaniam, as agriculture minister; B.Sivaraman as agricultural secretary; M.S.Swaminathan, the scientist.They were known as the 'three S'. C.S. of course was a part of this rather unwittingly. He was known as the father of the Green Revolution in wheat, but today it is another name for disaster.

2. Modern agriculture represents violence against physical nature, and also human nature. Many perceptive thinkers have pointed out how modern science embodies violence in its very structure and methods. One book edited by Ashis Nandy brings this out clearly: "Science, Hegemony, And  Violence: A Requiem for Modernity". It was published by Oxford University Press, in 1989, commissioned by the United Nations University. But it is outrageously priced- a paperback edition is available at Rs.19,600 .Probably, they do not want the public to read it!