After kisans, is government now going to call jawans impotent?

Never in his wildest dreams would former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri have thought that his iconic slogan, "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" (Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer), would one day be under scrutiny. But it is, thanks to the impotency-laden reply on farmer suicide recently made in Parliament.

From the very national capital where this slogan was first voiced in 1965 to enthuse the soldiers, and at the same time, exhort the farmers to do their best for India’s economic prosperity, the government has attributed impotency as a cause for farmer suicides.

On July 24, Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh sparked off the controversy by listing impotency, barrenness and love affairs as reasons for farmer suicides. Though Singh's response was based on statistics compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the Opposition swiftly pounced upon the written reply to a question in Parliament, slamming it as “insensitive” and an “insult to farmers”.

Singh in his written response said: "According to NCRB, causes of suicides include family problems, illness, drug abuse/addiction, unemployment, property dispute, professional/career problems, love affairs, barrenness/impotency, cancellation/non-settlement of marriage, dowry dispute, fall in social reputation and unknown causes."

As we wait for the achche din, it will be worthwhile to note that 12,360 farm suicides were recorded in 2014, slightly more than the year before. Nearly half of all the suicides were reported from Maharashtra alone, crowning the state as the epicentre of farmer suicides, followed by Telangana.

The controversy, which left the government flustered, may end up as a typical blame game in Parliament, of similar-sounding charges, ritually leveled against each other. But the impotency taboo, it is feared, may retain vitality for the posterity.

After kisans, this allegation could someday haunt even jawans. The reason? If farmers find themselves helpless and take this drastic step, so do the soldiers. Official figures reveal that the suicide toll in the highly-disciplined armed forces continues to be over the 100-mark, year-after-year, despite “all the measures” being undertaken by the defence establishment to reduce stress among soldiers. In July 2014, Rajya Sabha disclosed that as many as 597 military personnel committed suicide in five years, between 2009 and 2013.

Former defence minister Arun Jaitely said: "The government has taken various measures to create an appropriate environment for defence personnel, so that they can perform their duty without any mental stress." These measures, said Jaitley, include improvement in living and working conditions through provision of better infrastructure and facilities, including permission for yoga.

In the Army, by far the largest of the three services, for instance, 116 soldiers committed suicide in 2010, 105 in 2011 and 95 in 2012. The steps, which Jaitley said have been taken, don’t seem to be working very well on the ground as soldier suicide reports keep pouring in.

As of now, it’s a debate on farmer suicides. Falling into a debt-trap and besieged by bad weather, thousands of farmers take their lives each year. What primarily is a result of absolute poverty, the government blames on poor sexual strength. The love affair argument, however, sounds romantic.

In poverty-stricken rural India, love affair is something which the government can logically keep track of. All that is needed for rural India, is launch of the #SelfieWithGirlfriend initiative. For a country, where everyone, from Narendra Bhai Modi to Bajrangi Bhaijan, is obsessed with selfies, every tweet will sound sweet, till the next suicide is reported.

Those who can’t afford two square meals a day can be offered smartphones through bank loans. If not the poor famers, al least the telecom players will reap benefits - a sign of achche din.

But if impotency is to be blamed for suicides, is greater virility the cause for rapes - the biggest threat to women in the country - where everyday on an average, 93 are added to the list of victims?

Indian politics bear testimony to the allegations that in a bid to hide misgivings, governments may do anything. But what if this finger of impotency is someday pointed towards jawans?

But while other causes of farmer suicides are debatable, the impotency argument seems to be the Modi government’s best bet. We surely can debate for years about the veracity of rural love affairs, but commonsense says that you cannot make a dead man prove his potency till the drug, Sildenafil reincarnates in such an avatar.

But then let’s hope for the best. Hope these wild dreams don’t move beyond dreams and that we uphold the national pride: Jai Jawan Jai Kisan!