"Invisible India is the elephant in your bedroom"
Ashwin Mahesh talks with 2007 Ramon Magsaysay award winner P. Sainath .
Picture: P. Sainath credit: Sadanand Menon
In an exclusive interview to India Together, P. Sainath talks to Ashwin Mahesh about his work and his views on trade, politics, society, and the media.
Ashwin Mahesh: This is a serious award for serious work, so let’s get straight to it. Does this recognition change anything? Does it improve the chances of the agricultural crisis or caste deprivation or the other things you’ve been writing about being tackled more purposefully?
P. Sainath: Yes. Recognition of this sort, or by any award, changes a few things. One, it increases the space for such issues. A lot of editors might stop and ask if they too should be giving these topics more attention. Second, it encourages a lot of others who are interested in writing about these things, but are now hesitant for one reason or another, to give it a try. I came from Blitz, as you know. But after I won the Times fellowship, a lot of other people decided to apply for it the following year, thinking that if someone not normally ‘in the race’ for such recognition is being noticed, they too might have a chance. If you publish 84 articles on poverty, pretty soon everyone else will do some of it too. You’ve seen how The Hindu’s coverage has led to some mimickry of reporting in other papers, even with the Vidarbha series, the Wayanad series, and so on.
•
•
• And all this is a good thing. People like me don’t have the ‘scoop’ problem. We don’t mind if the things we are writing about are picked up by others, repeated in other publications, and so on. It’s in the nature of the things we write, that we want them to be more written about. And an award always gives that possibility a boost. That’s espeacially good if you’re a freelancer, like I’ve been for such a long time - the scope for getting published jumps when a new space becomes more inviting to a lot of publishers.
One shouldn’t discount the personal satisfaction, either. Obviously, that’s a big plus.
AM: Let’s move to the issues themselves, and start with agriculture. One hears a lot of people arguing that small and medium farms are simply unviable in the global agricultural scenario. Do you agree? Is there really a model that can work for the small farmer in India, or are we going to see family farms go the way they did in the US?
PS: First off, I think they’re wrong to question viability in such simplistic terms. If you consciously develop something, and nurture it, then it becomes viable. What we have is a situation where agriculture in India is being made unviable by imposition. Is American agriculture really viable? You have a situation where cotton crop worth 3.9 billion dollars receives 4.7 billion in subsidies. The Europeans are throwing billions of euros worth of crops into the sea. Whose farming is really unviable? In reality, developed world farming is hugely wasteful, not to forget destructive of soils. And yet, the question is asked if Third World farming, especially small and medium farms, can last in the long run.
No one is interested in giving the farmers any choice. In Wardha, in Akola, input dealers are saying that unless farmers buy Hi-Feed (a new chemical) they will not supply them urea this year.
• What the heart does not feel
• India shining, Great depression
But let’s address the questions anyway. There are essentially two kinds of people who question the viability of small farms. The first are those who favour corporate farming, and argue in favour of scale, productivity, and so on. They look at agriculture from a ‘production’ or ‘output’ lens. The second group looks at livelihood issues, and asks whether agriculture can really support a lot of people’s jobs going forward. I think we should look at the two arguments separately.
The first kind of argument is plain crap, as I said. It privileges one kind of farming - corporatised production - and lavishes all kinds of goodies and state subsidies on this model, and then questions the viability of others. This is basically the American model. In the US, a 100-odd family farms are going bankrupt each week. Corporate farming, while it is huge, employs hardly anyone. There are 700,000 people employed in corporate agriculture, even their prisons hold three times as many people (2.1 million). So, basically there’s an effort to drive people out of agriculture. And in the Third World, this is projected as the way to go for us too. More corporatisation, and more chemicals. By buying this argument, we’re turning what has historically been a non-chemical farming culture into a chemical one.
The key thing here is choice. No one is interested in giving the farmers any choice. In Wardha, in Akola, input dealers are saying that unless farmers buy Hi-Feed (a new chemical) they will not supply them urea this year.
The really laughable thing is, it’s all offered as part of a ‘free market’. I don’t see how 4.7 billion dollars in subsidy can provide a free market of any kind for cotton. The US farm bill this year can be summarised in four words - more of the same. And the babalog who’ve learned their economics from Tom Friedman - not Milton Friedman, but Tom! - are telling us about free markets, and how subsidies like support prices should be abolished. They turn a blind eye to real subsidies, and want to cut ‘life support’ in the Third World.
There’s no such thing as a free market, and anyone who thinks we’re going to move agriculture towards a free market should have his brain examined. There’s not a single part of the planet where agriculture is not subsidised. So we should end the hypocrisy about subsidies, and begin to talk about who is receiving them, and who should. If corporations are given money as freebies, it’s called an ‘incentive’, and if farmers are given free power in India, that’s a subsidy! So what we’re doing, by giving money to Cargill or ADM or Monsanto is feeding Frankenstein’s grandmother! At least if individual farmers get subsidies, there are some direct social benefits. What’s the point of one more private jet to a corporate CEO?
The irony is that more and more people want clean food, not the chemical-contaminated, corporate-produced stuff. In 1984, when I first visited the US, there were only a few small farmers’ markets here and there. This year, there were markets that I found hard to enter, because they’re so crowded.
AM: But not everyone who questions the viability of small farms is corporatist. I’ve heard at least a few voices - which you too would recognise as well meaning - question the future for Indian-style agriculture …
PS: This is the second kind of argument. Let’s look at agriculture in terms of livelihood and aspirations. The National Sample Survey data showed that 40 per cent of the people in agriculture don’t actually want to continue in it, so clearly they want to move out, they want their children to seek other kinds of work.
But they need options - and these have to be real options, that are available to them without brutalising them first, or depriving them of meaningful choices. If we’re not going to do that, but simply try to force them out of agriculture somehow, we may as well be bombing the countryside. We’re underfunding development greatly. Look at Utsa Patnaik’s work - it shows that in 1989, nearly 15 per cent of GDP was spent on development, but by 2005, this had dropped to six per cent. No wonder that millions of people - neither workers nor peasants - are moving into the urban areas. They can only work in unorganised jobs, where exploitation is easy.
What’s the alternative? Let’s recognise one simple fact - incomes in agriculture are on average lower than incomes elsewhere. Farmers are really the only group of producers with little or no control over their selling prices - there is simply too much flux globally to determine this. And historically, people have been moving out of agriculture. But we all need to eat. The farmer in the fields is thus making a sacrifice, in terms of opportunity, by remaining in it. We need to first recognise agriculture as a public good, and be comfortable about subsidising this activity.
In this country, we’ve never looked at the social sector as a potential employment generator. If we embraced that view, instead of romanticising the village, a lot of jobs could be created quickly.
The bigger step we can take is to recognise that farmers have a right to their aspirations too, and look for employment generating activities for them in other fields. Frankly, this is quite easy. In this country, we’ve never looked at the social sector as a potential employment generator. If we embraced that view, instead of romanticising the village, a lot of jobs could be created quickly.
Take the case of education. There is an estimated under-supply of 400,000 schools. Can you imagine the number of jobs we would create if we decided to address this? Simply having one teacher per class, instead of the current one per five classes, would create two million jobs. The construction of the schools, canteen services for them, and all the eco-systems around each school would create millions of more jobs.
The same with health care. We have a bizarre situation where hardly anyone has basic health care, and we have the fifth most privatised health care system in the world. We have more doctors than nurses everywhere, except in Kerala, where people live longer! There are plenty of jobs waiting to be created in health, but we first have to decide that everyone deserves a fair shot at good health. We’re still dithering on that.
Or public transport systems. I don’t have to tell you how much work could be created in public transport, if only we decided to invest in its social benefits and actually developed it. We also need to look at manufacturing differently, for a new industrial workforce, for a new generation. Moving people out of agriculture is not the problem, they themselves are dying (literally!) to do this. What we need to do is give them fair livelihood options that allow this change.
AM: Let’s stay with agriculture. I want to look at one other thing. In public at least, there are very few disputes that the government needs to take agriculture more seriously. But actual policies for agriculture and agro-trade don’t reflect this consensus. Is there a lot of behind-the-doors advocacy going on? I mean, who really wants the government to purchase from foreign traders at a higher price that the domestic support price, or restructure debts that are inherently unpayable, and so on?
PS: Absolutely. Agriculture is one of the largest industries on the planet, and giant corporations control significant chunks of it, leaving farmers completely out of the loop.
Take the case of cofeee. It’s almost all produced in the Third World. You can’t grow coffee in Alaska. But growers in the Third World have no control over the actual price of coffee. So, you end up with zooming prices for coffee in London or New York while growers are committing suicide in Wayanad! This is because too much of the marketing and pricing is deciding in back-room lobbying in the developed world, and enforced by global trade agreements like the WTO, or before that, the GATT. All this ‘green room’ stuff is revolting. In nutrition-poor societies in the Third World, we’re being forced to grow cash crops, and remain food dependent on developed countries.
Growers in the Third World have no control over the actual price of coffee. So, you end up with zooming prices for coffee in London or New York while growers are committing suicide in Wayanad
• Coffee sails globally, sinks locally
People mint money on the backs of farmers’ lack of information everywhere. Take the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulation Act. It says that the government may impose on farmers the kind of irrigation it deems fit. It can say to you, if you are a farmer living on the banks of the river, “Ashwin Mahesh, you have no right to the river water for your crops, what you must do is use drip irrigation or sprinklers.” Why? Because ministers in the government are close to sprinkler makers in Jalgaon. Or they want to push drip irrigation kits they have imported from Israel and want to dump on farmers here. Israeli agriculture is total bogus, it won’t last three weeks without American aid. And in any case, drip and sprinklers that work in the Negev desert are not exactly built for Lonavala, with 2400 mm of rain!
Asymmetries of information are everywhere, and denial of information is the game. Jaideep Hardikar, who’s written a lot for India Together, is working on some stories on cargo hubs being established in rural areas. You can see that while one farmer has sold his land for 1.5 lakhs an acre, his neighbouring plot, which is owned by a judge, has been sold for 2.5 crores.
AM: But doesn’t any of this lose votes? Don’t farmers in Punjab punish a government that would rather buy from the Australian Wheat Board than from them?
PS: Yes, but that can be tackled politically. Besides, the Australian Wheat Board buys from everywhere, so it’s possible some of this high-priced wheat being bought from them is just re-imported stuff that was originally available cheaper from the Punjab farmer!
AM: Let’s move on to society next. A lot of the problems you report on are the result of overall society being a particular way, and politics being of a particular kind. Given that, how do you see any of it changing? What will make politics and society more alert to the socio-economic condition of the majority of people?
PS: Society changes the way it always has. The people change it, either through popular movements and uprisings, or through politics of one kind or another. Not this non-political NGO stuff, that has no chance. We have a situation where the basic building blocks are broken, and we’re determinedly institutionalising inequality. It’s been designed cynically, and applied ruthlessly, with great clarity and by deliberate choice. It can’t go on. At some point, enough people will say ‘enough’ and then society will change.
AM: You’re avoiding the ‘R’ word …
PS: ‘Revolution’ is an over-used, even abused word. We’ve used this so many times, talking about sleepy villages waking up, that one would think all villagers do is sleep. We can count revolutions in RPM now. I think we need to treat it more seriously, and not use it in a loose-tongued way. Change will happen when some of the basic failures are addressed, however that comes about. India has had many achievements since independence, but we’ve also had four or five basic failures.
Even the progressive intellectuals develop feet - and hands, torso, head, everything - of clay when we talk about caste.
• The riots and wrongs of caste
Land reforms is one. With only a few exceptions, we find that land is the monopoly of a few people. And when I say ‘land’, I am using it broadly, to include water and other resources. Without reforms in usage, monopolies, tenancy, etc. 600 million people, who make up 75 per cent of rural households, own five per cent of the land. And we have to fix this. Without this, it’s like trying to fix the floor on the 50th floor of a skyscraper while the foundation is falling apart. But in India, development is typically like this; we’re used to building 100-storey buildings on fault zones, and calling it progress.
We have to address the social issues, there’s no doubt of that. But what we have is a situation where even the progressive intellectuals develop feet - and hands, torso, head, everything - of clay when we talk about caste, and start screaming “I’ve never discriminated against anyone.” Or we have rubbish like the AIIMS students agitating, while we’re quietly finding out about segregated canteens and so on. We must tackle caste, but we can’t tackle caste without tackling land.
There’s also gender, regional development, and a few other things. The thing to do is decide the overall lens, and fix what’s broken at a high level.
AM: You’re a reporter, above all else. So you must see some role in all this for the media. Serious journalism is plain dead in our dailies. I can’t remember the last time I saw a full page report on anything, in any paper.
PS: I have said this many times. The fundamental characteristic of our media is the growing disconnect between mass media and mass reality. The other day, there was a lead story, maybe in the ToI, about a guy who paid 15 lakhs to get a private mobile number of his choice, and this was called an ‘awakening of india’s new confidence’. A couple of days later, it turned out that someone else had paid 1.5 crores to ‘collect’ 30 such numbers. There’s simply no way to describe how stuff like this becomes news, and how it stays in the front pages. I keep thinking it can’t get worse but it does.
AM: I have a view that some of this is the result of having ‘national’ dailies, that aren’t adequately rooted in local news, so there’s a race to the bottom, in trying to find the lowest common factor and call it news.
PS: You can be national in your vision … in your idea of what this country is, what its soul is, and still report locally. You can even have several ‘local’ editions - Eenadu has one for each district of Andhra. Context is what counts, in judging this. Let’s face it - ‘national’ newspaper means something that is published in English in more than one city, that’s all. Having said that, national media can draw the threads together from different places, and provide context for local news. A ‘wider’ perspective, if you can call it that. If the world is globalised, you need that context. A struggle like Plachimada is local, yes, but is it not related in some way to Varanasi?
But there are also gigantic problems with some of the consolidation that we see in media. For instance, there’s very little talk of subsidies to media, amidst all the clamour about subsidies to agriculture! You can have big offices in Bahadur Shah Safar Marg or Nariman Point and this is not a problem, but better support prices for farmers are pored over at length. Media are also creatures of the subsidy raj.
There have been two Press Comissions in India, in 1954 and in 77-80 (this commission’s term was dragged out by the Emergency). And there has been repeated observation that what we have is freedom of the ‘purse’, not the press. People have also suggested delinking business houses from news industry.
The monompoly and concentration of power is also a problem. Remember the Bruce Springsteen song 57 channels, and nothing on? What we have is a growing number of channels, but the diversity is limited to the direction of hip movement. On one channel the hips are swaying to the left, and on the other they are swaying right, and it’s Prabhu Deva on both channels!
One reason is that the ownership of media has changed. Blitz was family owned, and that provided some foundation, a sense of purpose to having a media organisation. The Guardian is like that, without doubt the best newspaper in the world. It is run by a trust, and that can bring some good foundation.
You can have big offices in Bahadur Shah Safar Marg or Nariman Point and this is not a problem, but better support prices for farmers are pored over at length. Media are also creatures of the subsidy raj.
• Mass media versus mass reality
But now that sort of thing is rare, and many trusts too are full of corporate CEOs. A lot of media has forgotten that journalism is for people, not shareholders. A few publications would like to entirely drop some sections or readers becase it spoils their purchasing power profile. There are no labour correspondents, no agriculture correspondents … the term ‘rural editor’ came into being with The Hindu appointing one. But most papers have 12 business correspondents, even if it’s a general interest paper. They’ve decided that 70 per cent of people don’t make news, and this is a gigantic reflection of the character of the industry.
AM: Anything positive to say about our profession?
PS: There are good things. One simple truth is that the media is regularly administered doses or reality therapy by the people. The best evidence of this I can think of was the 2004 elections, where a whole bunch of disconnected pundits went about telling the public about India Shining, and the people told the pundits what was really on their minds. The next six to eight months were spent by media reporting considerably more seriously. I’d never been as much in demand on television as then … the media wanted someone to explain to them what the hell happened. And a lot of serious journalists found good work then. You know we’ve been talking about farmers’ suicides since 2001, but it really picked up after the elections went a different way from what the media predicted. Spaces opened up (for reporting) suddenly.
What journalists need to remember is that the public creates the spaces for freedom, and that their readers are almost always far far ahead of the editors. Whether it’s the New York Times or ToI, I find that readers write in very seriously. They may take extreme views, even, left-wing, right-wing and so on, but their views are serious, not some flippant stuff.
The challenge for journalists is to create and expand public spaces within increasingly private fora. But we’ve got history on our side - 180 years of it in this country. Twenty years of trivialsation is a minor period in that larger history. And even within the fluff we see, there is much diversity. In the 80s and 90s, a particular quality of person went into journalism which was good. We’re blessed with good young journalists, and there’s also a new phenomenon - of people from non-journalistic backgrounds coming into media and bringing a completely different lens, especially online. India Together itself is a great example of this.
Plus, diversity has a way of evening things up a little. I think kindly of the Indian press whenever i am in the US. These two countries - India and America - are the most diverse societies in the world. There are apparently 115 languages spoken in Queens, in New York, a fifth of them might be Indian, even! But look at your American newspaper, and it’s essentially a white Anglo-Saxon thing. Diversity is tokenist. In India, thanks to language and culture, there’s a much broader sweep of the culture being taken in by the media.
But ‘people diversity’ is still a problem in India, the Americans have a lot more of this kind of representation. There’s not one dalit editor in a major newspaper, and media remains the most exclusionist institution in the country. Our political spectrum is much wider than what you’d think, from looking at the media.
AM: Let me bring this down to the people who actually read you. Do you feel sometimes that the audience for your work has been precisely the same class of people who’re so indifferent to larger political realities? I always get the sense talking to you that your ‘political’ voice is speaking to a different listerner than your ‘reporting’ voice.
PS: By definition, we’re writing for the middle and upper classes. That’s going to be true, as long as literacy levels are what they are. Only 20 per cent of families are even getting a newspaper, so you can’t get away from that. But I think there are different ways to reach different audiences, and I try to do that. What I write in English is translated into many languages for publication. I also try to communicate with other fora. I rarely speak in Mumbai or Delhi, but in rural Andhra, I’m speaking everywhere, on all kinds of different platforms, most of them small spaces.
What we should be talking about is the Blind India that can’t see the elephant in its midst. And that means talking to the middle and upper classes, speaking plainly about biases, privileges, etc.
• Great Indian laughter challenge
The other thing is to remember that I can’t be speaking in the voice of the masses, the people have their own voice. What I can do is talk to peasants and workers and let you know what those conversations are like, and ask if you want to listen. I’m looking at the human condition in this society and telling it the way I see it. I don’t want o characterise readers by class or other homogeneity. I think we can all try to touch the differences.
As for your question, I’d say I want to reach the middle classes too. I’ve talked to and taught people from privileged backgrounds a lot, as you can imagine, and I think there’s a lot to be gained from this. You know how people in the middle classes talk and read about the ‘Invisible India’? That’s such a lot of rubbish. Invisible India is the elephant in your bedroom, what we should be talking about is the Blind India that can’t see this elephant. And that means talking to the middle and upper classes, speaking plainly about biases, privileges, etc. I want to do that.
AM: Before I let you go, tell us what you’re working on now. You’re always working on ‘series’, and there must be something new …
PS: What I work on is what the situation demands, so in one sense there’s no plan. The larger issues of agriculture became important, and I began writing about them. The PM came to Vidarbha, though things aren’t any better as a result one year later. But it helps.
I’m also working on a couple of series that are both dear to my heart. One is to create an archive of rural India. I want to use this award to further that. A hundered years from now, many professions will simply be unknown - the streetside knife sharpener, the toddy tapper, the manual irrigator, these will all not exist, and we should record these for posterity. Another thing I’m working on is a series on the last remaining freedom fighters of India. They’re dying, and their voices are an important memory of the Independence movement, and that’s something I’m looking forward to seeing published and archived. I’m also working on a ‘Guerilla Journalism’ project, but I’ll hold off elaborating on that now …
AM: Sainath, thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I’m sure a lot of people are thrilled for you. All the best, and we look forward to more of you on these pages, and elsewhere too.
PS: Thank you.
Filed under
Cite this article
India Together (2007) ‘"Invisible India is the elephant in your bedroom"’, India Together, 1 August 2007. https://indiatogether.org/sainath-interviews/
65 reader responses
Add a response
Rajani Ch · 31 July 2007
Respected Sir, Congratulations on winning the prestigious Ramon Magsasay award! No one else deserves this prestige more than you do. Hope that you continue to be an inspiration to all that admire you in what you do. With Lots of Best Wishes,
Nidhi · 31 July 2007
A very well deserved award. Mr Sainath has indeed been able to make us 'think'... I wish we had more thought provoking sensitive journalists
Chinua-Anitha-Shivaram Pailoor · 1 August 2007
Hearty congratulations Sainathji, we are proud of you.
G N Mohan · 1 August 2007
Dear sainath Congratulations. Long ago I dedicated one of my books on media to you. Your journey from COUNTERMEDIA to MAGSAYSAY is quite interesting. In this journey you did not travel alone you took each of us with you. Thanks for the insights you gave for media practitioners like us. let us join our hands to fight 'media fundamentalism'.
sriram · 1 August 2007
Many congrats on the award. It has been an absolute pleasure to read your reports and commentary. May your tribe increase.
poornima · 1 August 2007
Congratulations! Great to see P Sainath's work being recognized. It's not enough if someone contributes to society-it's very important that this is respected, recognised and written about. That's the need of the hour- because there are a lot of people who are misleading the youth, saying that everything has to make business sense. And that morals, ethics, caring for our planet are no more virtues. This recognition validates my point that the media is highlighting the negatives because it suits them to do so. The time has come for good journalism to be recognised. The time has also come for us to scream from rooftops that there are good, honest, dedicated people in this world! What was once a given, is now something we need to make a lot of noise about. And let's do it! Otherwise, opportunists will kill the truth, take over and make the world a bad place...
Narendra · 1 August 2007
Congratulations for winning the prestigious award. You are the role model to Indians who would like to turn India into New India. It will be a good idea to train every individual to be competitive and landing them to compete with the global economy. It is our duty now by visiting more people and motivating them the need of the hour and main challenges we have in this dimension.
roopashree.s. · 1 August 2007
Congratulations sir!! A real role model for many young aspiring journalists.
jayakishore · 1 August 2007
Congratulations sir. You've made India proud once again. I was deeply influenced by you.
vrinda · 1 August 2007
Congratulations. Thanks for this great and remarkable interview. Each and every media person has,has to refer this interview. Thanks for the discernment you gave the reader.
kumkum · 1 August 2007
Thanks for a really nice interview with my favourite journalist. I hope the media biggies will take note of all this and change the way they present news.
Pavan · 1 August 2007
Congratulations, We are looking forward for more from you. This recognition must give loads of confidence to many other people working for betterment of this.
mg.venugopalan · 2 August 2007
The interview is very thought provoking and incisive. I wish the PM/Ministers and senior administrators in India listen to Mr.Sainath's views on various matters affecting the country.
Pavan Nair · 2 August 2007
A well deserved award which will hopefully make the pundits in Delhi sit up and take note of his subject matter. Sainath has the ability to get to the core of an issue. People like him should be in the Planning Commission. This is great news for all who care for the poor and underprivileged and all of us at India Together. Thanks Ashwin for a great interview.
Anand · 2 August 2007
For a few minutes I thought I was reading words from a development activitist and had a strong urge to throw in my hat too. It dawned later that Sainath is just being true to his chosen profession - of truthful reporting. We do need more such people in whatever has become "the media".
anju munshi · 2 August 2007
I was very happy to know that your work has been recognised. Recognition of good work is an elusive phenomenon in our country.
Ganesh Babu · 2 August 2007
Congratulations! As an avid reader of your columns, I would like to ask you one thing: have your reports ever resulted in affirmative response from authorities in bringing help to the affected? Where do you think your role stops - in merely highlighting the problems or following up?
Vidya Venkat · 2 August 2007
Sainath has a wonderful capacity to narrate in a simple manner, issues that are complicated. He has a skill for juxtaposing the extravagance of the influential class with the helplessness of the poor and thus exposing the inequalities. Sainath has also proved that serious writing need not be boring. I must mention that he is one of the people who inspired me to take up journalism as a career...
Vasanthi Hariprakash · 2 August 2007
After a long time, I got to read an 'article of substance'! Mr Sainath, I can never forget the speech you made a few years ago at the Town Hall, Bangalore, and at the IISc campus. You are one of those people who make us live in hope, that not all is lost in the celebrity-obsessed media frenzy today. Thanks Ashwin for giving us such a remarkable interview.
Jamuna Rangachari · 2 August 2007
Hearty Congratulations. A richly deserved award and wish this has an impact on the entire media.
M Arjun Prasad · 2 August 2007
I congratulate India Together and Ashwin Mahesh in particular for immediately getting this interview for the readers of IT and for P Sainath's articles. PS's contribution to rural development and related sectors is immense. He clealry gave the picture of the situation hitherto in agriculture across the nation and in particular in AP and Maharashtra. An eye opener to many people in development.
Sankar · 2 August 2007
Hearty Congratulations on the award! A great interview indeed.
N.Subbaraman · 2 August 2007
Dear Shri.Sainathji, Congratulations.May God bless you with good health to carry your torch further for the benefit of the country & the humanity as a whole.
V. Jagan Mohan · 3 August 2007
Mr. Sainath's contribution to jounalism is singular in post-Independent India. No one before took the cause of rural India with such passion, and mainstreamed reporting about rural India. He richly deserves the award. I have defended Mr. Sainath in Business Standard when there was a tussle between Mr. Surjit Bhalla and him. I also think that The Hindu group of publications also deserves appreciation for giving space to Mr. Sainath for voicing the rural issues. Unfortunately, it takes a Magsasay Award winner to understand the issues in our own country's hinterland.
Somu Kumar · 3 August 2007
Dear Sainath, This award is certainly for the entire rural India. I hope more people start realizing the depth of the issues. Warm wishes. Thanks India Together for all the Sainath series.
Vijay Chormare · 4 August 2007
Congratulations on winning the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award. You are the role model to Indian journalists who would like to serious journalism.
Sumita · 5 August 2007
Mr Sainath, Congratulations, and thank you for paving the way for many of us who would like to do the same with as much integrity and honesty. Is always extremely inspiring to read you.
Kiran · 5 August 2007
Hats of to your work! Congratulations on your award. You have inspired several youth and hope we all can can join in your efforts.
r.s.patil&family · 5 August 2007
congralations sir. As a farming community we are proud of you.
Dr Som Majumdar · 5 August 2007
Congratulations on your great achievement. You indeed deserve it, Mr Sainath. Your view on the information-gap is fantastic, it hits the bottom core. Why not spend some of your insights to the issues on global warming. Don't you think it is a vital issue to be considered fo our future generations?
Alagesa Pandian · 6 August 2007
Dear Sainath, The interview is very interesting and informative. congratulations for the award. I especially appreciate your bursting the myth of Israeli agriculture. I would appreciate, if you or one of the readers can provide link/pointer which would substantiate that argument.
Hemu Adhikari · 6 August 2007
Hearty congrats for receiving the Magsaysay award. You have been doing wonderful work and it is simply my lethargy that I have not been keeping touch with you although I read a lot of what you write. This interview is forthright and I enjoyed reading it.
Robert B. Livingston · 6 August 2007
I am always happy when goodness is rewarded. Mr. Sainath's perspectives are never trivial - and are always an inspiration. India is rewarded by having such a hero. I am really eager to read more about his planned archives and more. Best wishes to him and all!
prabhat · 7 August 2007
The announcement of the award was the best news in months I had in newspapers. I've been an admirer of Sainath's writings for its thought provoking character, analysis, insight and the subject he chooses and the way he narrates. He wrote about the people who are not considered worth writing of in media these days. CONGRATULATIONS !!!
Srinivas Ganjivarapu · 7 August 2007
Dear Sainath garu, CONGRATULATIONS. This is great achievement and output of your effort on behalf of deprived people of India. You are inspiring the journalists of rural India with the Ramon Magasaysay award. And also thanks to India Together for the Sainath series.
Bhagyathej · 7 August 2007
I am a avid reader of P Sainath's articles right from those days when he covered extensively on migrations in Mahaboobnagar, AP (2001). It was clear from his writings & his interview above that Capitalism is not a panacea. With the state-intervention failing spectacularly in USSR, we are left with no other option except to follow market-driven approach of the economy. And when we follow this model,we are left with bitter experiences in Wayanad, Vidharba, Ananthapur. So, we have a problem at hand. What could be the solution to it? A new blend of economics?
Bhagyathej · 7 August 2007
Iam a avid reader of P Sainath's articles right from those days when he covered extensively on migrations in Mahaboobnagar,AP(2001). It was clear from his writings & his interview above that Capitalism is not a panacea. With the state-intervention failing spectacularly in USSR, we are left with no ther option except to follow market-driven approach of the economy. And when we follow this model,we are left with bitter experiences in Wayanad, Vidharba, Ananthapur.. So, we have a problem at hand. What could be the solution to it? A new blend of economics...???!!!
amrith jogi · 7 August 2007
Hearty congratulations to you Sir. I am a fan of you. You should be the role model for every 'modern' journalist.
sl thantry · 8 August 2007
Yes, we have luxury cars clogging the roads, but no seat available in buses or trains for the fare paying public. We have great IITs and IIMs for trainig our professional techno-managers , but no Indian Institute of Politics to train our worthy politicians. So that is our Bharat Mahan!
Hliri · 9 August 2007
Congratulations. You truly deserve this award and I must tell you that your being awarded this has a great impact on the society, many more will indeed come up for the cause of rural India.
shinu joseph · 11 August 2007
It's a reward for your efforts to bring the rural folk into the limelight of society. I am sure that more people will be on your path to give an outlook on what is happening in rural areas.once again,my heartfelt wishes on behalf of the rural folk.
Maheswar Lal · 13 August 2007
All the best Sainath in whatever you do. Guys like you are in short supply , a lot of people look up to you in issues which require immediate attention and guidance. Keep the torch burning.
gautam · 15 August 2007
I have been an avid reader for a decade, Mr Sainath. I am a doctor and am dedicated to a more equitable health structure in our country, have been deeply influenced by you.
Ezhilan · 17 August 2007
My Hearty wishes to Mr.Sainath. He is a very well deserved winner of the award. By the way, I've got a good collection of Sainath's articles in E-format; it's my long time work. I am ready to share this with everyone who would like to read Sainath.
Rakesh Verma · 17 August 2007
Thanks a million for presenting the farmers' problems and the real picture of rural India in the interview to Ashwin Mahesh. While quoting NSS Data you acknowledged that 40% of the people in agriculture don't really want to continue in it. And you have asked, "But they need the options, i. e. 'real options' made available without brutalizing and/or depriving them of meaningful choices." Could this be possible with without educating them to secondary/Senior secondary level? Certainly not. And you have more rationally discussed it with health care, public transport, new industrial work force etc. I have a programme a product mix of principles of developmental psychology, marketing, education and technology through which silently but surely we can make education within easy reach of majority of under privileged rural India. Its careful implementation by dedicated team of professionals could bring about desired social change in short period. It could simultaneously make politics and society more alert to the socio-economic condition of the majority of the people.
abhijit reddy · 21 August 2007
Congratulations Sir. This is an honour for your relentless and indispensable work on our rural sector that has been neglected in our rat race to embrace the frenzied globalisation!!! Hope our government will pay heed and uplift our ancient traditions of rural living.
himanshu · 28 August 2007
Well said. Just sharing my view on media: after watching all the senseless and negative news, I have stopped reading news (both in paper and internet) on weekdays. Believe me, I save lot of time and get peace of mind. If I get time on weekends, I read BBCHindi.com or RajasthanPatrika.com . I should add, I peek through India Together, but only couple of times a week.
Pradnya Parihar · 2 September 2007
Congratulations!!! It's always inspiring to see people like you also get such prestigious awards. It sort of makes one feel that there is still a bit of wisdom and common sense in this bizarre world. I am currently reading your book "Everyone loves a good drought". What the book is doing to me is too personal to be described in words. I wonder if you take that as a part of the change you can (and HAVE) created, but believe me it is one. One life, One Change - that's not really bad, is it?
VIJAY WALIA · 16 September 2007
The author has well researched the subject. His devotion to his job is highly appreciable. He should tell us the ways to ameliorate the rural lives from within. Our system,govt. in particular has not much scope to work because of the insensative bureaucratic set up and irresponsible babudom. So the effected have to rise themselves That is our action point.
Sreekaanth.B · 18 September 2007
There are many things here that give birth to some wanted, true ideas. If you are asking me what I'm looking for, I would request you to project some ideas that implement 'really' free primary education in India. I think agriculture when cultivated in the hands of educated is the dream that has to come true. At that time there is agriculture and there is education.
Dr.Devanand · 20 September 2007
We are happy from the depth of our hearts. Thank you, Sir, for you are our voice, and our language for those who are deaf.
balabhaskar · 25 September 2007
Congratulations Sir, yours is the voice of poor farmers who are struggling to survive. I heartily salute your effort to bring them to the foreground.
Arun · 27 September 2007
Congratulations Mr. Sainath. This is an apt recognition of your untiring efforts in highlighting the plight of Indian farmers.
A. P. Singh · 23 October 2007
You talk of building schools and creating health care infrastructure as examples of generating employment in India. That certainly is the best possible method of developing the society, be it rural or urban. An educated mind in a healthy body will itself be an asset and it will create countless opportunities for itself and the society in taking them forward in life.
vishnu · 14 November 2007
thanks for awakening us.
Mohd Adil · 6 December 2007
Congrats! This is recognition of all the poor rural families whose voices you raised. It's a matter for honour for all of us who are working for true shining and developing India.
Mohd Adil · 6 December 2007
Dear Sir, Congrats ! This is recognition of all the poor rural families whose voices you raised. Its matter for honor for all of us who are working for true shining and developing India. Adil
vikramadithya · 16 December 2007
Dear Sainath, Congratulations, I wish you good health and many more achievements.. I am really thankful to a person like you who proved that an individual can influence the public policy , media and individuals through their dedicated work.I also thank you for highlighting the "real issues before India than before media "
Jay · 24 December 2007
Congratulations on receiving this prestigious award. I have read quite a few articles of you about the problems in India. But I feel you need to provide us more guidance for solving those problems. Understanding is just one part of it. People like me might not see the problems and so their solutions with your "eye", so we need leaders like you to provide solutions to those problems also. And the solution should be such that what a man on street could do to solve these burning issues. Then we can make some difference.
armstrong pame · 23 January 2008
It's an award that you have always deserved, but more than this award is the acceptance of the reality that is happening in today's India where the rural poor are almost treated as unwelcome guests, be it commercial, media etc. I hope the recognition of your work will inspire many fellow citizens to be be more serious about the country's condition and thus be a a part of the solution.
vineet kumar malik · 18 February 2008
Really a very thought provoking article ..... this really gives us the true picture of what 'really' is happening in our country.
omprakash nagrale · 3 May 2008
congrat's for megaseses,i m live in yavatmal distic in maharastra.whise is in new for sucit of farmer.im farmar's sun i m itrestin in work for farmer plase i joint your misstion
alankar · 30 June 2008
I joined the communication department in Naandi Foundation where i am assigned the livelihoods sector. Being a media student i want to explore the real truth in development reporting, i agree with you where you mentioned about the importance of getting the award - it will inspire young blood like me to do some reporting or to write stories which can really meet the demands of the underprivileged. I like a style which you made famous a staccato lead introduction to any story catch the eye, i appreciate you for your dogged determination of taking journalism to new heights. I think presenting a news or a story about the underprivileged to the middle class and the upper middle class is really challenging and it is you who made it possible today. I am looking forward to my career in development reporting where I will try to make another way to reach the people.
s g bhokarikar · 15 October 2008
COMPREHENSIVE LOAN PACKAGE FOR EVERY INDIAN SMALL & MARGINAL FARMER (S & M FARMER) WHO HAS UNIRRIGATED FARM LAND. SILENT FEATURES - 1) Every S & M farmer will be provided with an improved farm pond with common ownership Rights. This farm pond will give almost all the advantages a dam built in a catchments area. But most importantly farm pond will not displacing even a single person. 2)The Government Of India, Agriculture Ministry, New Delhi, has already issue the guidelines on Common Farm Ponds under its scheme of National Horticulture Abhiyan. 3) The fund requirements, Rs 15,05,000 crores, will be met completely from our Indian Economy only. The corpus will be fully autonomous legally and will be monitored and controlled by eminent people including Retired Judges/ Economists/peoples representative. 4) Through this corpus, Nationalised Banks Lead District Banks will give each and every S & M Farmer a comprehensive package of Rs.4.30 Lacs, repayable in 5/7 years with a simple interest @ 5% that will be charged not on principal amount but on the reducing balance basis. 5) The S & M Farmer, should opt for a staple food crop only, and as an additional business he/she should undertake dairy/animal husbandry business. 6) As suggested by Dr Swaminathan- Father of Indias first Green Revolution, an assured repurchase price for the staple food crop will be ensured. The price will be determined by his principle of Cost of the farmer+ 50% 7) The S & M Farmer will not be given the loan only for the first year, but to make them financially stronger, they will be given an additional working capital loans of Rs.35000, Rs70000, Rs30000, and Rs60000 for next 4 years, on the similar conditions provided they repay their loan installments in time. This condition will have to be complied with, by them. 8)If we start our scheme by 2009-10 Kharip Season, every year we can cover 49,74,200 S & M Farmers. By 2015-16 Kharip Season we would have covered 3,61,62,290.
Varadaraj · 12 January 2012
Very excellent work indeed. Yesterday I saw an interview with Mr.Sainath in HMTV. A very revealing and insightful program. Such journalists are the need of the country.