Economic Distress and Farmer Suicides in Rural Punjab

Suicides by cultivators and agricultural labourers have been reported in Punjab since the mid 1980s. This paper argues that this unprecedented phenomenon is caused by a multidimensional crisis of the rural economy in the post green revolution phase of agricultural development. A combination of economic factors such as, economic hardship of the pauperized peasant households, crop failure, unemployment and indebtedness has pushed the victims to end their lives. This is happening in wake of decline of community sense/support mechanism as result of the emergence of new production relations. This phenomenon can be checked through appropriate policy measures such as debt moratorium of the debt trapped households and creation of safety nets for marginalized rural households. ___________________________________________________________________________