Indian farmers sell wives to pay debts

Drought-hit farmers in northern India are resorting to selling their wives to repay debts to local loan sharks, activists say, as one of the weakest monsoons in years takes its toll.

Poverty, poor administration and a lack of education means farmers in the rugged Bundelkhand region are taking extreme steps to pull through a poor rainy season, they say.

"This has been happening for quite some time now, but people were hesitant to come out with all this," said Manoj Kumar, a social activist working with farmers in the area.Read More................Indian farmers sell wives to pay debts

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50 rare Jackals poisoned by Indian farmers

At least 50 rare jackals were poisoned to death in northern India by farmers angry over alleged attacks on children and damage to crops blamed on the animals, as per one forest official.

The carcasses of the jackals — an endangered species protected by Indian law — were found scattered in sugarcane fields over the past four days on the outskirts of Dudhwa National Park, nearly 155 miles southwest of the Uttar Pradesh state capital of Lucknow, said the official, K.K. Singh. Read more.....................Indian farmers poison 50 rare jackals

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Dump your Debt papers in the Sea

About 20,000 farmers on the verge of committing suicides due to debt from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu states of India have found a novel way to get rid of their debts.

Kisan(Farmers) Coordination Committee (KCC) has come out with a "novel plan" to "bid goodbye" to debt by dumping loan documents in the sea at Rameswaram city in Tamil Nadu state of India on the eve of the new year. They are expected to converge in Rameswaram city to take part in the "Karj Mukti" (liberation from the debt) agitation to "sink" the debt documents in the Sea!!!!!!!!!!!!

"We want to start our life in 2008 with absolutely no debt. We want to put an end to farmers' suicides," as per Govind Joshi, an executive member of KCC, who said they have planned a farmers' rally on December 31,2007 coinciding with the committee's executive meeting. Read more.......................Farmers to dump debt papers on new year's eve

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Farmers take to horse breeding as alternative source of income

Farmers in Punjab in India are taking to horse breeding as an alternative source of income.

Farmers in south-west Punjab have adopted horse breeding as an allied profession.

The fertile soil and green pastures give Punjab a natural advantage to breed racehorses cheaply. Read more..........Punjab farmers take to horse breeding as alternative source of income

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