Written by John Vibes at trueactivist.com
This weekend, roughly 25,000 farmers in Mathura, India are threatening a mass suicide if the government does not compensate them for destroying their farmland.
The farmers have had their lives torn apart since 1998 when the government constructed the Gokul Barrage near their property, which resulted in the destruction of over 700 acres of farmland. The construction caused the ground to sink across 11 different farming villages, making the land unusable for decades.
The farmers have been fighting for so many years but have seen no results or hope of compensation. When they protest the injustice, they are arrested, attacked by police and even shot at.
Sangh state general secretary Kunwar Nishad said recently that the government has made promises to compensate the farmers, but they have not followed through on those promises.
“In February this year, when the farmers sat on dharna, officials had promised to sort out the matter in one month but the promise was never fulfilled. On the contrary, several protesters were falsely implicated for loot and dacoity,” Nishad said.
“Despite several assurances and the matter being raked up in Parliament, the state government continues to turn a blind eye to the sufferings of these farmers,” he added.
With no hope left, the farmers are making a bold and unprecedented promise to end their own lives if the government continues to ignore this injustice.
For a variety of reasons, suicide is sadly a very prevalent trend among farmers in India.
It was reported earlier this year that there has been an explosion in farmer suicides, especially in the region of Maharashtra, where farmer suicides have spiked 40%. Struggling farmers cite drought, GMO crops, poverty and government oppression as their main grievances.
The government in India has yet to respond to the impending mass suicide, and it is scheduled to occur tomorrow, August 15, 2015.
John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war.
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