Farmer suicides rise in India

Shocking statistics reveal that the rate of farmer suicides in the Indian state of Maharashtra has gone up in recent years despite continual pledges of state assistance.

The Indian ruling classes claim that wealth generated by the booming economy is “trickling down” to the poor, but thousands of farmers, saddled by debts they cannot repay, take their own lives every year.

According to official statistics, in 2006, 1.3 million out of Maharashtra’s 1.76 million farmers were described as “distressed”, of whom 434,000 were found to be under “maximum distress”.