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Patties and the FARMER: Agriculture continues to be Neglected by Government


The Swatantra Party is also opposed to co-operative farming and says–‘The Swatantra Party stands for land reforms without expropriation in any form including that which is directly or indirectly involved in collective farming camouflaged as ‘joint co-operative farming’ under official control.’ However by supporting big landed estates and opposing ceilings the party has indicated its inclination for big farms.

Need of intensive cultivation rule out lati-fundia of all sorts, collective co-operative corporate or individual.

As mentioned earlier these parties have no programme for making uneconomic holdings economic. Size as well as farming practices determines the economic nature of a holding.

Bharatiya Jana Sangh feels that under present standards five acres of well-irrigated land will constitute an economic holding. It will therefore try to bring about a situation wherein peasants can have at least that much of land.

It has therefore declared its intention of putting check on fragmentation and sub-division. The Hindu Succession Act as applied to land as well as tenancy laws will have to be amended.

While distributing surplus land, care shall have to be taken that instead of creating a large number of uneconomic holders it will be desirable to turn as many of them as possible into owner-cultivators of economic holdings. Exemption granted to land-owners below five acres of land has the same objective in view. All this is necessary to put agriculture on a sound footing. Agriculture for subsistence has to be substituted by agriculture as an economic activity.

With regard to provision of assistance to the farmers all parties are quite liberal. The Congress, however, wants that betterment levies should be imposed and that irrigation rates increased. Bharatiya Jana Sangh feels that irrigation being the primary need of agriculture it should not be run as a commercial department. The Jana Sangh therefore wants to reduce irrigation rates and to reorganise the whole department to its agricultural operations.

While all other parties stand for big irrigation projects the Jana Sangh has all along favoured an emphasis on small schemes. Inspite of the fact that some big schemes are nearing completion the need for small measures on a large scale continues. The Jana Sangh also wants a country wide survey of our water resources for better planning and flood control. There is no opposition to service cooperatives by any party. The Jana Sangh however wants that they should ‘be freed from official control and be allowed to develop on voluntary basis.’

Swatantra’s Solganism

The Swatantra Party has given a slogan of ‘abolishing land tax except to the extent necessary for maintaining ownership records.’ This exception clearly shows that is more than a slogan. How does this programme fit in with its promise of repealing ‘such amendments too the Constitution as have enabled the Congress Party to expropriate land belonging to the peasant proprietary on payment of grossly inadequate compensation.’ The Swatantra does allow the land owner to sub-let his lands and charge rent but does not want him to pay anything to the State.

By providing an exception with regard to the land tax ‘necessary for maintaining ownership records’ the Swatantra Party has rebbed the proposal of the economics that its originator, the Janata Party leader, had so thoroughly calculated.

There is, however, a case for reducing the rent on land. In Ryotwari areas where sub-letting is allowed, the land rent must be reduced. In zamindari areas the State after abolition of the system had appropriated to itself the whole of the rent that the zamindar used to collect. The poor tenant has not been benefited in any manner. In some cases the rent has been increased. The result is that the revenue income of the States has more than doubled during the last decade. The Jana Sangh wants that the rent in these areas should be halved and a part of the land revenue should be allotted to the Panchayats. The Planning Commission and its advisers, on the country, want the land revenue or rent to be increased. They have a wrong impression that the rural population is not sufficiently taxed and that they can still bear additional burdens. It is not only groundless but harmful also. We need capital not only of industrial development but also for agricultural development. Any additional levies will not only hinder capital formation in that vital sector of our economy but in most cases also impinges on the already low standard of living of the population.

The question of marketing is intimately connected with agriculture. Any increase in agricultural production is not automatically followed by a proportionate increase in the income of the agriculturist. The farmer has a weak position in this respect. At this time of the harvest the market is ruled by the buyer and later on by the seller. Thus the producer and consumer both are at a loss. The remedy lies in organising cooperatives and a widespread programme of warehousing. The Jana Sangh manifesto therefore promises.

‘The Bharatiya Jana Sangh will see to it that the agriculturist gets proper returns for his produce. Warehouses will be constructed on a vast scale. Arrangements will be made by government to purchase agricultural commodities at a minimum price announced in advance of the growing season. While fixing the minimum price, a certain amount of profit to the farmer in addition to his cost will also be included.’

The PSP also assures Government help in this direction in general terms. The Congress and the Communists are silent but the Swatantra does talk of ‘parity prices’.

Agriculture in India depends on the cow and bullocks. Other things apart, it is on this ground that the respect for the cow has been universal. It is a national sentiment. Independent India had always prohibited slaughter of the cow and its progeny. Unfortunately the present regime constitutes an exception to this rule.

Except for Bharatiya Jana Sangh all other parties favour continuance of cow-slaughter. However Jana Sangh is pledged to the amendment of the Constitution to ban the slaughter of the cow and its progeny.

Thus Bharatiya Jana Sangh wants to develop agriculture on the basis of peasant proprietorship laying stress on the small projects. It is opposed to mechanisation except for reclamation purposes.

A vote for Jana Sangh is a vote for the small farmer, prosperous and free. A vote for Jana Sangh is a vote against cooperative farming leading to collectivisation.

A vote for the Swatantra Party is a vote against cooperative farming but a vote for large-scale mechanised farming under private or joint stock company management. A vote for the Congress the PSP, the SP the Communists and even for the Hindu Mahashaba is a vote for cooperative farming.

If the freedom of the peasantry is to be protected the Jana Sangh must be supported and voted.

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