Agrarian Crisis and Farmers Suicides – A Case Study of Prakasam and Ananthapur Districts in the New State of Andhra Pradesh

In 1988, the districts of Prakasam, Guntur in coastal Andhra and Adilabad and Nizambad, Warangal in Telangana region of then united Andhra Pradesh witnessed large scale suicides among the cotton growing farmers. These were due to the increasing debt burden due to escalating investment costs on inputs and dependence on private money leaders charging huge interest rates and the crisis. It was further accelerated due to lack of proper output prices. Further during the same period, more than 150 handloom weavers also committed suicide in coastal region of Andhra Pradesh with Chirala as a major handloom centre. Hailing from Hasthinapuram village of DevangpuriPanchayat, ChiralaMandal of Bapatla district (old Prakasam district) and being witness to these tragedies as they were happening in my immediate vicinity I found it extremely distressing. Coming from a weaver family and knowing some of these victims closely I found these tragedies to be veryemotional in a personal way. I felt it an imperative to understand the root causes of these tragedies. In an attempt in this direction I discovered the thesis by AcharyaN.G.Rangaji on the economic and social conditions of the handloom weavers in this area with a focus on the period of 1925-1930. This inspired me to go for a scientific study of the handloom sector and its ever increasing crisis combining both policy and feild based methods so that the relation between the state policy for handlooms as part of the textile policy and the changes on the ground could be analysed. In India, handloom sector is second major employment provider after agriculture sector in rural areas. Both the sectors are in deep crisis since 1985 and reflected the correlation with the changed scenario with respect to policy decision of the government. In an attempt to understand the root causes of this crisis, it is necessary to appreciate the relationship between the agriculture and the handloom sector. This idea of need for research on agricultural sector occurred to me in 1991. The suicides of cotton farmers and handloom workers on an everyday basis reminded me of my responsibility as a citizen. But by then I had studied only 10th standard. I decided to pursue further education and I could complete my post-graduation in economics in 2012. From 1988 till now I have been actively participating in the movements on the issues of handloom workers and related policy issues. The rapid changes in the agricultural sector and its connection with the crisis in the handloom sector began to be clearer in mind in the course my engagement with this movement