laxr lalkj - Sangat Sansar

science of natural farming; he lives natural farmingevery day; he is totally engulfed with the philosophyof natural farming,” said Dr. Harminder Sidhu, aHomeopath practitioner and a practicing naturalfarmer from village Jalaldiwal of Raikot in Ludhianadistrict. “The modern agriculture paradigm haslimited all expertise to agriculture universities only.The chemicalised agriculture model has madefarmers scientifically illiterate—who presumed tobe ignorant to every aspect of science and agritechnology. This is a conspiracy which has madefarmers dependent on universities, department,companies and even pesticide retailers. It is a crueljoke that those who get a three or five year degreein agriculture with a alien kind of agricultureknowledge, and who are practicing an agricultureknowledge of only 40 years old, are known asexperts whereas the farmers who possess theagriculture wisdom of at least 5000 years are madecommoners. We are not going to accept thisnonsense any more. We are working to build selfconfidenceof our farmers on their own aboutagriculture heritage and wisdom. We are the nationwith abundance in farm produces, agrobiodiversityand prosperity,” adds confident DrSidhu.One can find portraits of Sat Guru Ram SinghKuka and Bhagat Singh in farmers’ workshopsorganised by KVM. A new Swadeshi movement isbeing evolved by KVM farmers across the Punjab.The battlefield of this new swadeshi movement isfields of farmers. The boycott and Swadeshi aregiven new dimension as KVM farmers are spreadingthe message of agricultural Swadeshi through theiragriculture technologies and daily farming practices.The KVM movement is rainbow of differentpolitical ideologies and social streams. Started inMarch 2005 as a broad-based, non-politicalecological movement, the KVM today is a uniquerainbow of various shades of Punjabi culture withpeople from different socio-political ideologicalbackgrounds came at one point and evolved a newphilosophy of Greens in Punjab. KVM is a platformwhere all shades of people are coming together tobuild a movement for saving the natural resourcesof Punjab from the onslaught of callous and greedycommercial interests and development thoughtwhich are anti-nature and anti-society. The KVMteam includes farmers, physicians, teachers,journalists and media persons, literary writers,lawyers, creative artists, geographers, economists,software engineers and professional businessmen.The list of natural farmers contains namesfrom all corners of the state. The PingalwaraCharitable Society, Amritsar, a prestigious socialservice institute in north India, founded by BhagatPuran Singh has supported the natural farming andthe movement with its resources. Pingalwara hasestablished the Bhagat Puran Singh Natural FarmingCentre in 37 acres at village Dhirakot near JandialaGuru. More significantly, well-known religiousleader and spiritual environmentalist Sant BalbirSingh Seenchewal, Sultanpur Lodhi hassuccessfully rejuvenated rivulet Kali Bain, and hasjoined the natural farming movement. Now he ispromoting natural farming in his spiritual massgatherings.Similarly many professionals such as thosefrom the medical field, college and universitylecturers and professors, advocates, journalists,even government officials and civil servants havejoined this movement for rejuvenation of the soil.They are in contact with the KVM and participatein its activities.Now KVM is concentrating on several villagesto change the entire village in natural farming field.In the present wheat season hundreds of naturalfarmers are practicing the Nanak Kheti. KVMactivists are committed farmers who work in thefields. These farmers are the true sons of the soil.They are scientists and leaders of this ecologicalinitiative in the service of Mother Nature.(The writer is Executive Director of KhetiVirasat Mission, a civil society action group basedat Jaitu in district Faridkot of Punjab. He can becontacted at umendradutt@gmail.com)ebZ] 200816laxr lalkj (ekfld)