Uttar Pradesh: Unable to Sell Sugarcane, Farmer Dies By Suicide in Tikait’s Bastion

New Delhi: A 55-year-old sugarcane farmer, Om Pal Singh, died by suicide on Thursday by hanging himself from a tree in Muzaffarnagar’s Sisauli, home of legendary farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait, who, in the late 1980s and 1990s, had made several governments bow before the demands of farmers. Since his demise in 2011, his sons Naresh and Rakesh have taken charge of the Bhartiya Kisan Union and Sisauli continues to be the BKU’s bastion.

Om Pal’s family said that he committed suicide due to financial stress as he had not been paid his sugarcane dues. According to them, most of his crop is still standing in the field and he saw no avenue for sales.

“The day he hanged himself, the Khatauli sugar mill said that it would not be accepting sugarcane anymore. He had dues of around Rs 25,000 from the sugar mill which had not been paid since February. He was in dire need of money,” Ram Pal Singh, the deceased’s uncle, told The Wire over the phone.

Delayed payment to sugarcane farmers from sugar mills is a perennial problem in Uttar Pradesh. As per law, the mills are supposed to clear payment within 14 days of delivery of cane or pay interest. Before coming to power in UP, the BJP had promised that it would make sure that this law was implemented. However, pending dues of sugarcane farmers in UP now total Rs 18,000 crore.

Also read: After 3-Year Delay, Government Releases Farmer Suicide Data

Om Pal’s problems were made worse this season due to the lockdown as he had been unable to sell to local jaggery producing units, or kohlus. During the initial days of the lockdown, several kohlus in the region did not function due to the lockdown and now many have still not reopened due to financial stress or because the migrant workers who worked them are no longer there.

“He tried to contact several kohlus but not even one was functioning. He had no place to sell his crop. He had no money and he saw no avenue where he could get some cash from,” his uncle said. “And about 150 quintals was still standing, there was no place to sell it.”

Om Pal was a small farmer with around one acre of land. He had a large family – a wife, five daughters (two of whom are married), one son – and was the sole breadwinner. The family relied largely on earnings from their farm, where they grew sugarcane – as is the case in much of western Uttar Pradesh.

The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh from the chief minister’s relief fund.

The police and district administration have said that a ‘land dispute’ with his brothers – and not the pending cane dues – was the reason for Om Pal’s suicide. “The sugarcane dues were not an issue behind the suicide. Om Pal hanged himself following a land dispute with his two brothers. Locals told us that while Singh was looking after the whole land, his two brothers were rarely seen in the field. This is why Singh was asking for a larger share in the farm income,” Virendra Kasana, in-charge of Bhauri Kalan police station told the Indian Express.

The family has denied this. “There was no land dispute. All brothers had equal land. All of us are stressed due to non-payment of sugarcane dues. We have lost someone in our family and the police is trying to blame us. This is very sad,” said Jaiveer, Om Pal’s brother.

According to Kuldeep Tyagi, who is the president of the Bhartiya Kisan Andolan – an organisation working in western UP –  farmers across western UP are facing financial distress despite having an assured price for sugarcane. “Those days of prosperous western UP are over. In the last few years, we have seen several farmers who have committed suicide. The price they get for sugarcane has remained stagnant. On the other hand, the cost of living has gone up. So, farmers are finding it difficult to make ends meet,” Tyagi said.

Union minister of state for animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries Sanjeev Balyan, who is member of parliament from Muzaffarnagar, said that the region needs more sugar mills. “Each year we are producing more and more sugarcane. But the number of sugar mills has remained the same. That is one major reason for the problem of delayed payments,” he told The Wire.

Also read: Mahendra Singh Tikait's Kisan Union Rattles Delhi Again After 30 Years

Jitender Hooda, a farmer from the region, says that the problem is severe if farmers in Tikait’s own village commit suicide. “Mahendra Tikait was one of the biggest farmer leaders in the country ever. And this has happened in his own village. It says a lot for the condition of farmers in the region and the level of political power they have now. It points to the decline of the BKU,” he said.

Another farmer in the region also pointed fingers at the BKU. “What has the BKU been doing all these years since Baba Tikait passed away? Why they have not ensured that farmers get payment on time? They are only interested in doing deals with political parties and building palaces for themselves,” the farmer said.

BKU chief Naresh Tikait admitted that the the union's clout has reduced. “This is true. Things are not the same as they were. We are not as well respected even among farmers now. The government also does not listen to us. We are trying hard to get our union back to where it was,” he told us over the phone.

Satendra Kumar, a sociologist who has studied the politics of western UP, argues that the decline in the level of power wielded by the BKU is a symptom of a broader problem where the farmer as a political entity has declined in status. “Political parties have abandoned farmers. Farmers don’t matter to them. And this is why organisations like the BKU have very limited power because the farmer is no longer as valuable in the political system as before,” he said.

If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of telephone numbers (www.spif.in/seek-help/) they can call to speak in confidence. You could also appear them to the nearest hospital.

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