Hyderabad: The latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveals that at least one person in the farming sector died by suicide per hour in the year 2023, with 10,786 recorded suicides. This, however, is still a decline from the 2022 figure of 11,290.
Farm suicides have accounted for 6.3 percent of total (1,71,418) suicides in 2023 and include 4,690 cultivators and 6,096 agricultural workers.
Maharashtra topped the chart, accounting for 38.5 percent, followed by Karnataka with 22.5 percent, Andhra Pradesh with 8.6 percent, Madhya Pradesh with 7.2 percent and Tamil Nadu with 5.9 percent.
West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Chandigarh (UT), Delhi (UT), and Lakshadweep recorded zero suicides.
Farmers’ organisation challenge data
However, this data has been challenged by farmers’ organisations, saying it does not represent the ground realities.
President of the All India Kisan Sabha, Ashok Dhawale, while speaking to The Hindu, claimed that NCRB data cannot be trusted and the fact that West Bengal reported zero suicides is simply not true.
He also attributed the high rate of suicides in Maharashtra and the surrounding cotton belt states like Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to the Modi government’s decision to cancel 11 percent import duty.
Similarly, according to a report in the Times of India on the suicide rates in Punjab, vice-president of Kirti Kisan Union, Rajinder Singh Deep Singh Wala has also disagreed with the accuracy of NCRB’s data and stated that the figures are highly underreported and do not represent a ‘true picture of he crisis’.
The leader highlighted that NCRB does not record the reasons behind farm suicides and thus the data is undercounting, as deaths are often recorded under causes other than agricultural distress.
Farmer suicides declined under BRS, claims KTR
Coming to Telangana, which has recorded a significant decline in farmer suicides between 2014 and 2023, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao, on Wednesday, October 1, attributed the success to the schemes under the BRS government.
In a post on X, KTR mentioned that the number of suicides among farmers, tenants, and agricultural labourers in Telangana in 2014 was 1,347, while in 2023 it came down to 56, recording a decline of 95.84 percent.
Speaking to the Press Trust of India, KTR attributed the success to KCR’s “humane and effective governance: and schemes like Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, improved irrigation, and 24-hour free power supply.
On the other hand, he urged states like Maharashtra to follow Telangana’s example, “While neighbouring Maharashtra faces rising farmer suicides, Telangana’s success serves as a model for other states to ensure no farmer suffers due to lack of support,” he stated.
At the same time, KTR also criticised the Congress government, saying that since the latter has come to power, Telangana has recorded over 700 suicides in the past two years.
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