Saturday, March 21, 2009

congress ticket to tainted M.P. facing disqualification-deshonatti reports

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Disqualification Petition pending against Lok Sabha M.P. Haribhau Rathod.

Vidarbha JanAndolan Samiti

Regd. Office: 11, Trisaran Society, In Front of Somalwar School, Khamla, Nagpur – 440 025.

Contact Office at Post Pandharkawada – 445 302. Dist. Yavatmal (M.S.)

Ph : 07235 – 227564 / 227387 Mobile – 9371137653/ 9422108846

President –

Kishore Tiwari,

B.E. (Mech.Engg.), M.B.A., LL.B., M.A. (Pub. & Admn.), M.A. Sociology,

M.I.S. (USA), Fellow - I.E.H., Fellow – Institution of Engineers (India)-

Chartered Engineer

Ref: VJAS/LS-PIL/WP-57/ 2009 17.03.2009.

To,

Hon’ble Shri Somnath Chatterjee,
Hon’ble Speaker of 14th Lok Sabha,
Parliament House, New Delhi.

Sub : Request for early decision in the matter of disqualification petition filed by BJP Parliamentary party against ‘vote for cash’ M.P. Haribhau Rathod and to keep ethical standard of Parliamentary Democracy

Ref : Disqualification Petition pending against Lok Sabha M.P. Haribhau Rathod.

Hon’ble Sir,

I am President of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS), a movement of citizens working for the cause of poors who believe in parliamentary democracy and humbly beg to submit as under that :

1. Mr. Haribhau Nasru Rathod is the elected Member of 14th Lok Sabha from Yavatmal Parliamentary constitutency of Maharashtra State. He was elected as an official candidate of BJP in the General Election to Lok Sabha – 2004.

2. It is alleged that Mr. Haribhau Nasru Rathod, 14th Lok Sabha MP has acted against the whip of the BJP Parliamentary party. Accordingly, a petition has been filed by BJP for disqualification of said MP on the grounds contended in the said petition pending before Your Honour.

3. It has been alleged by the BJP parliamentary party that the said expelled BJP M.P. Haribhau Rathod who had last year defied his party whip and abstained from voting on the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha and disqualification petition alleging his intentional abstain as ‘vote for cash’ and likely to face disqualification as reasons given by Haribhau Rathod that he said "I came back from Parliament yesterday at around one pm to take my diabetes injection. Suddenly, on the way my sugar level dropped because of which I became drowsy and was rushed to Kukreja Hospital in Rajouri Garden (about 15 km from Parliament). I was in the ICU and was finally discharged at around nine in the evening. My phones were switched off and no one was allowed in the ICU. I was under tension since I had not made up my mind about the vote. It is nice that the government has won and I would have also voted for the government only,"

(http://news.hinduworld.com/click_frameset.php?ref_url=/index.php&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.expressindia.com%2Flatest-news%2FAbsent-BJP-MP-says-he-was-in-ICU-but-still-supports-UPA%2F339441%2F ) the BJP petition claimed that the reasons given by Mr. Rathod are not justified as his illness in the house was not even reported in the parliament hospital hence his version is fabricated .

4. As Mr. Rathod has now joined Indian National Congress and seeking party ticket of INC, we in letter to Smt. Sonia Gandhi requested her on the ground of high morality and in order to keep high standards ethical balance in Indian parliament system intact ,she should not promote the practices adopted by the Great Betrayers- Aya aur Gaya type M.P. Haribhau Rathod as even if congress culture allows such type of corrupt elements to exists with reorganisation but society at large will reject them at last in the election hence congress should refrain from such unholy act .

5. Hon’ble sir, we would like to draw your kind attention that Rathod's defection was a shocker to the common voters and the citizens atlarge who have faith & belief in the democracy and also for BJP party. Mr. Rathod may be seeking reelection from Yavatmal parliamentary constitutency once again as candidate of Indian National Congress which he has joined recently.

This AayaRam-GayaRam tendency of the political leader is the blot on the parliamentary democracy and to teach lesson to such defectors, the parliament has enacted the statutory provisions of which Your Honour is the custodian and presiding authority.

6. In light of the development taking place, in order to protect the high moral standard of parliamentary democracy, it is the need of hour to give punishment to such persons who have violated the law of Anti Defection and brought disrespect to the parliamentary democracy. Hence the petition filed by BJP Parliamentary party seeking the disqualification and other penal action against Mr. Haribhau Rathod has to be decided immediately because the Anti Defection Law also mandates disqualification from contesting election for 6 years, in the event if it is found that Mr. Haribhau Rathod is guilty of violation of the provisions of the law governing such defection as a Member of Lok Sabha.

In view of above, we as the soldier - custodian of parliamentary democracy and high moral standards coupled therewith, humbly pray for early decision in the matter of disqualification petition pending against Mr. Haribhau Rathod, since its outcome will have direct bearing upon his nomination as a candidate of forthcoming Lok Sabha election.

In such circumstances it is demand of every citizen of India that the pending disqualification petitions against the Members of Parliament - Lok Sabha like Mr. Haribhau Rathod may please be expedited & decided immediately in the interest of justice, equity and fair play to uphold the high standard of parliamentary democracy in which every citizen has faith & belief.

We hope, for the reason explained here in above, Your Honour will arrange to deliver the most expected judgement in the case of Mr. Haribhau Rathod pending before Your Honour, so that the faith & belief of common man in the parliamentary democracy can be strengthen by your valuable decision / judgement.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,
For VIDARBHA JANANDOLAN SAMITI

KISHORE TIWARI
PRESIDENT.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Tendupatta tribal worker stir intensified- Big rally on 16th march to protest the unjust to million of tribals


Tribal stir for tendupatta bonus further intensified and Big rally on 16th march to protest the unjust to million of tribals

Nagpur-14TH MARCH 2009

Hundred of the tendu workers are meeting loni village (kolambi fata) of yavatmal forest division

on Monday 16th March tounanimously resolve to boycott the Lok Sabha elections if bonus is not distributed to them and action was not taken against the corrupt forest officials within 15 days.

According to tendupatta mazoor samiti chairman Suresh Bolenwar, over 40 lakh

tendu workers of Vidarbha and Marathwada region of the State are still waiting for their bonus of 2007-08 season. “We have been fighting for the bonus for the last several months. We staged dharna, hunger strike and took out rallies too. But nothing has materialized,” he said “If the government won’t listen to our demand, we will boycott Lok Sabha elections,” he cautioned.Tendu workers mostly tribals are on warpath to get their legimate bonus which has been milked by local political leaders and there are masive complaints of irregulerties in bonus ditribution .vrie

Earlier last week , the Vidharbha Jan Andolan Samiti president Kishor Tiwari led a delegation of tendu workers to chief conservator of forest Anil Mohan at his office in Nagpur and apprised him of the grave situation. In reply, Mohan promised to ensure the payment of bonus to all eligible workers within a stipulated timeframe. He also said that if the forest officials are found guilty then action will be taken against them. Later the delegation also met principal chief conservator of forest B Majumdar in his office and briefed him about corruption in bonus distribution and demanded a probe into the episode. Majumdar assured to conduct a probe but till date no action has been taken.. “The tribal tendu workers predominantly reside in Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Wardha, Nagpur, Gondia, Chimur, Buldhana and Amravati district in Vidharbha region and Hingoli, Nanded and Parbhani district in Marathwada region. So if they decide to boycott the elections, it will have significant effect on the overall poll result.”tiwari said . “we want that if tribals basic issues are pending for years together and not single party to raise the serious issue then what's use of casting the votes to these corrupt politicians.we are seriously doing mass compaign on this isuue too.” tiwari added.

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

VJAS wants LS eletions deferred by six months-TIMES NEWS NETWORK

VJAS wants LS eletions deferred by six months-TIMES NEWS NETWORK

VJAS wants LS eletions deferred by six months


NAGPUR: TIMES NEWS NETWORK

LS ELECTION ARE OFF TRACK

There is major shortage of water and fodder for the cattle in villages.The administration does not have time for these urgent problems.’kishore tiwari,VJAS leader





The Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti(VJAS) which is spearheading a movement to protect farmers’s rights in the region has said the elections process will hit farmers and the rural public reeling under the drought like situation in most parts of Marathwada.



VJAS has written to the chief election commissioner that elections in the nine pre-dominantly rural Lok Sabha constituencies of Vidarbha and six of Marathwada be postponed till September by when fresh monsoon may bring some respite.

“Right now when there is a major shortage of drinking water in the villages and fodder for cattle, the district administration has no time and energy to look into these urgent life and death problems of the people. The administration is busy in election work, ” said VJAS chief Kishore Tiwari.

He pointed out that the drought like situation is already leading to large scale migration from villages with farmers and labourers looking for work. “It will be a mockery of elections if only 10 to 15 percent people turn up for voting as the rest will not be in a position to exercise their franchise,” said Tiwari. He has requested the EC to defer the elections in these areas by six months.




Monday, March 2, 2009

Vidarbha cotton farmer's killer B-t.cotton seed-Kristeligt Dagblad throw light on truth

The modified truth : India's dead peasants- Danish daily Kristeligt Dagblad reports



The modified truth : India's dead peasants

(This is translated from Kristeligt Dagblad.)

http://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/artikel/312150:3--verden--Den-modificerede-sandhed

Since the early 1990s, 200,000 Indian farmers committed suicide. The vast majority of the pesticides that should get the crops in their fields to grow. Kristeligt Dagblad train in November 2008 to the Vidarbha region near Mumbai to find out why. Article Series in four parts was through interviews with those involved in order to reconstruct and restore events. This is the third article of the series.



Bomuldshøsten er en hård og til tider langstrakt affære.




















Cotton harvest is a hard and sometimes tedious affair. De hvide totter modnes ikke pÃ¥ samme tid, og i Indien betyder det, at bønderne sælger Ã¥rets høst af flere omgange. The white totter not ripen at the same time and in India it means that the farmers sell the year's harvest of several laps. Her ses to af omrÃ¥dets bønder, mens de læsser dagens høst af. Here are two of the area's farmers, while they read today's harvest. – Anna Klitgaard. - Anna Klitgaard.

Anne-Sofie Storm Wesche og Anna Klitgaard skriver fra Indien Anne-Sofie Storm Wesche and Anna Klitgaard writes from India

activist Kishore Tiwari look at the picture of an Indian peasant. The farmer has a red rope on the neck, he is dead. The photograph is just one of many on the wall. They are there to remind him what he is fighting for

Bollywood-stjerner danser hen over fjernsynsskærmen. Bollywood stars dancing across the television screen. I farvestrÃ¥lende dragter smiler de og vrikker med hovedet. In colorful costumes and smiles they waggle their heads. Parret bevæger sig gennem en bomuldsmark fuld af svulmende, hvide totter. The couple moves through a cotton field full of bulging white totter. Hver gren tynges til jorden af de vatlignende knopper, og sÃ¥ langt øjet rækker, er billedet det samme. Each branch weighed to the ground by the vatlignende buds, and as far the eye can see, the picture is the same. Midt i alt det hvide stopper stjernerne – de rækker hver deres hÃ¥nd frem og viser stolt en forgyldt pakke bomuldsfrø. Midst of all the white stop the stars - they go each their hand up and proudly displays a gold package cottonseed. Mærket er Bollgard, patentindehaveren pÃ¥ produktet er bioteknologifirmaet Monsanto. The label is Bollgard, patent holder on the product is the biotechnology company Monsanto.

De sukkersøde smil fra de to stjerner overbeviser ikke aktivisten Kishore Tiwari. The sugar sweet smile from the two stars is not convincing activist Kishore Tiwari. Det gør heller ikke de mange knopper på bomuldsplanterne. It does not many buds on cotton plants. I Vidarbha dyrker stort set alle bønder genmodificeret bomuld, og ikke mange steder i Indien er der fattigdom og ulykke som her. In Vidarbha grows virtually all peasants GM cotton, and not many places in India, there is poverty and unhappiness here. Tidligere var området kendt som Indiens bomuldsbælte, men i takt med at op mod 35.000 landmænd de senere år har taget deres eget liv, har det i dag skiftet navn til Selvmordsbæltet. Previously, the area known as India's cotton belt, but as that up to 35,000 farmers in recent years have taken their own lives, it has now changed its name to the suicide belt. De døde her er kun en lille del af de 200.000 bønder i Indien, der i de seneste 10 år har taget deres eget liv på grund af fattigdom og gæld. The dead here are only a small proportion of the 200,000 farmers in India in the last 10 years have taken their own lives because of poverty and debt. Men med en befolkning på bare 3,2 millioner har de gjort Vidarbha til epicenter for den selvmordsepidemi, der i disse år hærger blandt Indiens bønder. But with a population of just 3.2 million, they have done to Vidarbha epicenter for the suicide epidemic in these years rife among Indian peasants.

Selvom frøene i jorden her er de samme som i reklamen, så svulmer bomuldsplanterne ikke af knopper. Although the seeds in the soil here is the same as in the advertisement, then expand the cotton plants are not the buds. Bønderne valgte ellers den genmodificerede bomuld eller Bt-bomuld, som den også kaldes på grund af det lovede store afkast. The farmers chose otherwise the GM cotton and Bt cotton, as it is called because of the promised large returns. Alligevel har det ikke fået deres bomuldsplanter til at bøje sig mod jorden under vægten af svulmende knopper, som grenene gør i reklamen fra Monsanto. Yet it has not got their cotton plants to bend towards the earth under the weight of bulging buds, as the branches are in the advertisement from Monsanto.

Den dårlige høst bliver Kishore mindet om selv inde på kontoret i Pandharkawada. The poor harvest is Kishore Tiwari reminded himself inside the office on Pandharkawada. På den brunlige betonvæg til venstre for ham hænger en stor planche fra 2006. On the brown wall of concrete to the left of him hangs a large plate from 2006. Vidarbhas seks distrikter er afbildet på den, og ud for hver af dem står et tal. Vidarbhas six districts are depicted on it, and for each of them stands a figure. For Yavatmal-distriktet, hvor Pandharkawada ligger, er tallet højt. In Yavatmal district, which lies Pandharkawada, the figure is high. 248. 248. Under det viser et billede en mand med lukkede øjne og et rødt reb om halsen. During the show a picture a man with closed eyes and a red rope around your neck. Han er død og er medvirkende til, at Kishore og hans forening, Jan Andolan Samiti, har travlt. He is dead and has contributed to Kishore Tiwari and his association Jan Andolan Samiti, are busy. Flere gange om ugen modtager de opkald fra efterladte, der lige har mistet et familiemedlem. Several times a week they receive calls from survivors who have lost a family member. Og hver dag besøger enten Kishore eller en af foreningens tre frivillige familier i oplandet for at hjælpe dem. And every day, visit either Kishore Tiwari or one of its three volunteer families in the hinterland to help them. De rådgiver de efterladte om kompensationsmuligheder og fortæller om alternativer til dyrkningen af, hvad Kishore ser som hele grunden til selvmordene: Bt-bomulden. They advise the survivors on compensation options and talk about alternatives to the cultivation of what Kishore sees as the whole reason for suicide: Bt cotton.

For 10 år siden var det dog ikke de små, genmodificerede frø, der drev den nu 50-årige Kishore væk fra en lukrativ stilling som marketingchef. For 10 years ago it was not the small, genetically modified seeds, which drives the now 50-year-old Kishore Tiwari away from a lucrative position as Marketing Manager. I stedet var det et ønske om at gøre en forskel og bedre vilkårene for Yavatmals fattige bønder. Instead, it was a desire to make a difference and improve conditions for poor farmers Yavatmals. Ønsket var både religiøst og idealistisk funderet. The desire was both idealistic and religious-based. For i hinduismen er det godt at gøre noget for andre, og politisk ser aktivisten det som nødvendigt at tilsidesætte egne behov for at hjælpe andre. In Hinduism it is good to do something for others, and political activist sees it as necessary to override their own needs to help others.

Som Kishore sidder i chefstolen på kontoret, ses det tydeligt, at han kan lide at være midtpunkt. As Kishore Tiwari Chief Justice sitting in the office, be it clear that he likes to be center. Både for pressen og lokalbefolkningen. Both the press and the local population. Lige nu har otte mænd mast sig ind på det lille kontor uden vinduer. Right now, the eight men crushed into the little office with no windows. Han underholder dem alle med historier fra marken og med sine egne fortræffeligheder. He entertains them with stories from the field and with its excellent entirety. Lige indtil telefonen ringer, og en kvindestemme fortæller om endnu et selvmord. Right until the phone rings and a female tells of yet another suicide. Så bliver han alvorlig. Then he becomes serious.

Da han efter et stykke tid lægger mobilen fra sig, ser han op pÃ¥ planchen med billederne af de døde bønder og nærmest rÃ¥ber: ”Ban it. When he after a while, the mobile phone away, he looks up the installment plan with the pictures of the dead peasants and almost shouts: "Ban it. They should just ban it!” – Forbyd det. They should just ban it! "- Prohibit it. De burde bare forbyde det. They should just ban it.

Fokus for Kishores vrede er de genmodificerede bomuldsfrø, der gemmer sig i Monsanto-reklamens forgyldte kasse. The focus of anger is Kishore Tiwari GM cotton seed, hiding in Monsanto advertising gilded box. Monsanto er et multinationalt bioteknologisk selskab, der specialiserer sig i landbrugsprodukter – blandt andet ukrudtsmidlet Roundup. Monsanto is a multinational biotechnology company specializing in agricultural products - including herbicide Roundup. Firmaet har været til stede i Indien, siden det i 1998 fusionerede med Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company Ltd. The company has been present in India since 1998 merged with Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company Ltd.. (Mahyco). (Mahyco).

Sammenlægningen gav Monsanto-Mahyco fodfæste på det enorme indiske landbrugsmarked med 575 millioner potentielle kunder og åbnede hurtigt for testforsøg med det genmanipulerede Bt-frø. The combination gave Monsanto-Mahyco foothold in the huge Indian market with agricultural 575 million potential customers and opened quickly testforsøg with genetically engineered Bt seed. I 2002 blev Bt-bomuld som den første genmodificerede afgrøde godkendt til kommercielt brug i Indien, og lige siden er det gået stærkt. In 2002, Bt cotton as the first GM crop approved for commercial use in India and since then has been strong. I dag er 6,3 millioner hektar ud af 9 millioner under Bt-opdyrkning, hvilket er en stigning fra 0,3 procent i 2003 til 70 procent i dag. Today, 6.3 million hectares out of 9 million under Bt cultivation, which is an increase from 0.3 percent in 2003 to 70 percent today. I Vidarbha begyndte bønderne for alvor at bruge frøene i 2003-2004, og i de første høstår var jordens afkast højt. In Vidarbha farmers began in earnest to use the seed in 2003-2004 and in the first year was the earth returns high. Men så begyndte det at gå galt. But then it began to go wrong.

Det lave udbytte ses ikke mindst på de syv bomuldsmarkeder, der ligger som perler på en snor langs vejen mellem landsbyen Baggi og Pandharkawada. The low yield is seen not least in the seven cotton markets which are as beads on a string along the road between the village of Baggi and Pandharkawada. De første fem er lukket, og det sjette har kun modtaget sojabønner. The first five are closed and the sixth has only received soybeans. Først på det sidste ligger et lille bjerg af bomuld. Only the last is a small mountain of cotton. Mens bønderne skubber bomulden ud af sækkene på vognen, æder okserne løs af de hvide totter. While pushing farmers out of cotton bags in the wagon, eating okserne bulk of the white totter. Hvidt skum står ud af deres munde, mens de gumler. White foam is out of their mouths while they munch.

Kishore står på pladsen foran den hvide høj af bomuld. Kishore Tiwari is on the square in front of the white high cotton. Alt dette er Bt. All this is Bt. Han samler en håndfuld op, nulrer den. He gathers a handful up nulrer it. Der er ikke nogen forskel at se. There is no difference to see. Bomulden ligner den slags, der blev dyrket før i tiden. Resembles the kind of cotton that was grown in the past. Alligevel er der forskel, for tidligere var landmændene også fattige, men de begik ikke selvmord. Yet there are differences in the past farmers were too poor, but they did not suicide.

Det begyndte de først for alvor pÃ¥, da de multinationale selskaber kom til Indien i slutningen af 1990’erne. It started the first truly on when the multinationals came to India in the late 1990s. De gik aggressivt til værks for at fÃ¥ markedsandele. They went to work aggressively to gain market share. Kishore har set plakater i landsbyerne og hørt sælgere forklædt som bønder fortælle om frø med fantastiske evner. Kishore Tiwari 've seen posters in the villages and heard salesmen disguised as peasants tell of seeds with amazing abilities. De har lovet de mÃ¥bende landmænd, at deres udbytte fra markerne ville mangedobles, og at de ville blive rige pÃ¥ kort tid. They have promised they agape farmers that their proceeds from the fields would multiply, and that they would be rich in a short time. De har ogsÃ¥ fortalt, hvor fantastisk Bt er, fordi den ikke kræver insektgift. They have also told how wonderful Bt is because it does not require insecticide. Og hvis bønderne stadig tvivlede, husker Kishore, at firmaerne arrangerede ture til testmarker, hvor de ved selvsyn kunne se Bt-bomuldens fortræffeligheder. And if farmers ever doubted, Kishore Tiwari remember that companies arranged tours to the test fields where they could see for myself Bt cotton super entirety.

Kishore har set det hele før. Kishore Tiwari 've seen it all before. De seneste tre-fire Ã¥r har høsten været den samme – katastrofal. The last three-four years the harvest has been the same - devastating. Derfor er det ogsÃ¥ med bekymring, at han gÃ¥r de kommende mÃ¥neder i møde. It is therefore with concern that he is in the months to come. Planchen pÃ¥ hans kontor minder ham nemlig om, at langt de fleste selvmord sker i mÃ¥nederne under og efter høsten, fordi landmændenes hÃ¥b om en mirakelhøst ikke bliver indfriet. Plan Chen in his office reminds him that that the vast majority of suicides happen in the months during and after harvest because farmers hope for a miracle harvest will not be honored. Dermed stÃ¥r de med en gæld fra de tidligere Ã¥r samt udsigten til at optage et nyt lÃ¥n til næste Ã¥rs sÃ¥sæd. Thus they are with a debt from previous years and the prospect of recording a new loan for next year's seeds.

Kishore har set forandringen komme snigende i landsbyerne, hvor selv helt fattige bønder nu ligesom resten af Indien drømmer om motorcykler og mobiltelefoner. Kishore Tiwari 've seen change come creeping in the villages, where even quite poor farmers are now like the rest of India dream of motorbikes and mobile phones. De vil være med i den fremgang, som resten af landet oplever i disse år, og føle sig som Bollywood-stjernerne i de strålende reklamer. They will be in the prosperity that the rest of the country is experiencing in these years and feel like Bollywood-stars in the brilliant advertising.

Der er dog langt fra filmstudierne til virkeligheden i Vidarbha. There is, however, far from film studios to the realities of Vidarbha. Ikke bare markedet viser dette, men også markerne. Not just seen this, but also the fields. Kishore standser bilen ved en, hopper over den udtørrede grøft og ned på jordens sprukne overflade. Kishore Tiwari stop by a car, jump over the dry ditch and down to earth sprukne surface. Inde blandt de røde blade står bomuldsbonden Sama-dhan Raud blandt udtørrede knopper. Inside, among the red leaves are cotton peasant Sama-dhan Raud among dried buds. Egentlig troede han, at Bt-bomuld med Bollgard ville beskytte bomuldsknopperne. Actually he thought that the Bt-cotton with Bollgard would protect cotton buds. Det fortalte sælgeren ham, og det antyder navnet. The seller told him, and it suggests the name. Men Bollgard beskytter kun knopperne mod larveangreb og ikke mod svamp, og derfor har han været nødt til at indkøbe dyr gift for at redde høsten. But Bollgard protects only buds against larval attack and not against the sponge, so he has been forced to buy expensive gift to save the harvest. Også selvom brugen af Bt netop skulle betyde, at bønder som Samadhan sparede penge på plante- og insektgifte. Even though the use of Bt would just mean that the peasants who Samadhan saving money on plant and insect poisons.

Monsanto udviklede op gennem 1980’erne Bt-frøene. Monsanto developed through the 1980s Bt seed. De er kodet med et giftstof, Bacillus thuringiensis, som de mest skadelige bomuldslarver ikke kan lide. They are encoded with a poison, Bacillus thuringiensis, as the most damaging cotton larvae do not like. Denne egenskab kan spare bonden for bÃ¥de udgifter og sprøjtning med gift, og det kunne flere indiske frøfirmaer se fidusen i. De købte teknologien af Monsanto, som dog stadig ejer patentet og anser alle Bt-frø for firmaets ejendom. This feature can save the farmer for both costs and the spraying of poisons and could see several Indian seed establishment scams in. They bought the technology of Monsanto, which still owns the patent and believes all Bt seeds of the company's property. Det betyder, at de ikke tillader bønder i hverken Indien eller resten af verden at gemme, videresælge eller bruge frø fra Bt-planter, hvorfor alle Bt-bønder skal investere i nye frø hvert Ã¥r. This means that they do not allow peasants in either India or the rest of the world to save, sell or use the seeds from Bt plants, why all Bt farmers to invest in new seeds every year.

Hvis bønderne forsøger at omgÃ¥ Monsantos forbud ved at gemme eller genbruge sÃ¥sæd, sÃ¥ har det i flere tilfælde vist sig, at de genmodificerede frø fra firmaet ikke kan reproducere sig selv. If farmers are trying to circumvent the ban Monsanto, save or reuse seed, it has in several cases demonstrated that the genetically modified seeds from the company can not reproduce itself. Bønder og interesseorganisationer pÃ¥stÃ¥r, at det skyldes terminator-teknologi, der gør frøene sterile, men Monsanto lover pÃ¥ deres hjemmeside, at de ikke vil bruge teknologien – i fødevarer. Farmers and interest groups claiming that it caused terminator technology that makes seeds sterile, but Monsanto promises on their website that they will not use the technology - in food.

Når bønderne alligevel investerer i den dyre såsæd, er det, fordi de er fanget af reklamernes løfter. When peasants still invest in the expensive seeds, it is because they are caught by the advertising promises. De drømmer om et bedre liv, og Monsanto og underleverandørerne udnytter dette ved at lokke bønderne med store afkast og tilbud om penge. The dream of a better life, and Monsanto and subcontractors exploit this by enticing farmers with high yields and offering money. Frøfirmaerne sælger nemlig ikke kun frø, de finansierer også indkøbene, hvis bonden ikke har rede kontanter. Seed establishment sells not just seeds, they also finances the purchases if the farmer does not have ready cash. Denne fremgangsmåde er blevet kritiseret fra flere sider, men indtil videre stiger andelen af lån optaget hos såsædssælgere bare. This approach has been criticized from several sides, but so far increases the proportion of loans from seed sellers only.

Det samme gør antallet af selvmord i området på trods af økonomiske hjælpepakker fra staten og delstaten. The same number of suicides in the region in spite of economic aid packages from the State and the Land. I Vi-darbha begår tre til fire bønder selvmord hver dag, og det holder Kishore beskæftiget. In We-darbha committing three or four peasants suicide each day, and it keeps Kishore Tiwari employed. Konstant er der mennesker på hans kontor, og i dag er ingen undtagelse. Constantly there are people in his office, and today is no exception.

På en af de sorte plastik-stole inde på det lille kontor sidder en høj, stor mand. At one of the black plastic chairs inside the little office sits a large, strong man. Hans navn er også Kishore, og han er bror til Ashok Deshettiwar, der begik selvmord for blot en uge side. His name is Kishore Deshettiwar, and he is brother of Ashok Deshettiwar who committed suicide just a week side. Han er kommet for at søge hjælp, for Ashoks gæld skal betales tilbage. He is here to seek help for Ashok debts must be repaid.

Kishore Tiwari lover at hjælpe familien med kompensationsansøgningerne. Kishore Tiwari promise to help the family with compensation applications. Men han spørger også, om de har overvejet at dyrke andre afgrøder end Bt-bomuld. But he also asks whether they have considered other crops than Bt cotton. Han ved godt, at kun meget få selvmordsramte familie formår at skifte til nye afgrøder for ikke at tale om dyrkningsmetoder. He knows well that very few suicide-hit families manage to switch to new crops, not to mention cultural practices. De har ikke ressourcerne til det, heller ikke selvom økologisk bomuldsdyrkning med tiden kan gøre en forskel. They do not have the resources for it, even though organic cotton cultivation over time can make a difference.

udland@kristeligt-dagblad.dk udland@kristeligt-dagblad.dk

Monsanto er blevet bedt om at medvirke i artiklen, men har pr. Monsanto has been asked to help in the article, but each. mail blot henvist til firmaets hjemmeside www.monsanto.com mail simply referred to the company's website www.monsanto.com