Thursday, November 30, 2006

Sixth Pay Commission and Farmers

Mention the Sixth Pay Commission, and farmers of India, in the same breath, and even the Communists, who consider it their divine right, to extract the the maximum possible from the Indian Government, for the salaried government employees, raise their eyebrows.
But what exactly, is the issue that is behind the presumption, that somehow farmers and farm labour, have nothing at all to do with Sixth Pay Commission. What really are the root assumptions that are behind this raising of eyebrows ?
The Communists have no doubt contributed, to this assumption that Sixth Pay Commission is somehow only meant for government and state employees.
They of course, have theories about agricultural surplus, industrial subsidization, working class as the vangaurd of the proletariat, farmers as the remnants of backward modes of production, farmers as representative of feudalistic Indian society, etc.
But it is surprising, that the Communists have fooled, even the centrist and rightist parties, the Congress and the BJP, political parties, whose thought processes, are derived from more local inspiration, into thinking that Sixth Pay Commission, is inconceivable for farmers of India.
It would be an interesting excercise, to engage the Congress and BJP think tanks, into considering the demand for inclusion of farmers, in Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, as a directly affected party, without whose interests being considered, the entire foundation of Sixth Pay Commission, is a complete fraud being enacted.