my dear chinmay, u failed to notice the sarcasm behind virendra singh's comment! of course, we all feel sad for the tragedy for the families concerned. However, the issue seems to have been touched only marginally! suicides take place when the individual is afraid of a loss of face in the society he is living in, for any reason whatsoever. In rural society, prestige- based on the dowry and other expenses u incur on family functions, including death-feasts, the "better" house, means of conveyance,etc., plays a much dominating role than it does in urban society because of closer social interaction-levels! Therefore, instaed of saving up for adverse times, an affluent farmer thinks of spending on prestige-enhancers when makes money from his crop. Agriculture today is as speculative as any commodity market with prices being subject to so many forces of market as well as nature. Thus, fluctuation and cyclicity in production and prices of various crops is only natural. How many components of population can a nation subsidise! As it is there are huge amounts being spent on ecomnomic and social subsidies for the "weak" and the " not so weak", putting a severe drain on the country's resources. In my opinion, there is a need for educating the farmer about the need for smaller families and curbing ostentatious social spending on various functions as also putting aside some of the income as saving for hard times!
