Well that backfired! Indian minister, 48, drinks dirty water from 'holy' river polluted with sewage to show locals it's safe... before he's rushed to hospital after falling ill

[5aaban]

9 hours ago, proudkaur21 said:

I dont think much is going to happen. People in the west open up centers of learning for various fields whereas back home in Punjab opening ielts centre is considered business lol. I don't keep my hopes high unless some miracle happens.

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann announces MSP for moong dal

In a decision aimed at encouraging farmers towards diversification, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Friday announced minimum support price (MSP) for moong dal (lentils) and assured farmers that the government would lift the crop if they go ahead and cultivate it.

The government will also pay difference to farmers selling moong below MSP, promises CM Mann

IELTS centers are a visual sore! They're on every street of every town in Panjab, its disturbing. If you search for jobs in Panjab, more than 50% of them are for IELTS center teachers, receptionists, etc. 

[proudkaur21]

18 minutes ago, 5aaban said:

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann announces MSP for moong dal

In a decision aimed at encouraging farmers towards diversification, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Friday announced minimum support price (MSP) for moong dal (lentils) and assured farmers that the government would lift the crop if they go ahead and cultivate it.

The government will also pay difference to farmers selling moong below MSP, promises CM Mann

IELTS centres are a visual sore! They're on every street of every town in Panjab, its disturbing. If you search for jobs in Panjab, more than 50% of them are for IELTS centre teachers, receptionists etc. 

yup people are becoming managers of ielt centers and what not and think of this as an achievement. What even.

[MisterrSingh]

A good way to annoy a Punjabi is to tell them they're pronouncing "IELTS" wrong. They pronounce it as "ILETS" when it's obviously "IELTS".

[dallysingh101]

20 hours ago, proudkaur21 said:

And top it all off most people in punjab dont even eat rice. It's mostly grown to feed the rest of those states most likely. Literally ruined our future due to that so called revolution.

You do also know that frequently, mounds of wheat are left in granaries to rot away. 

[dallysingh101]

20 hours ago, 5aaban said:

There's been efforts to diversify crops in Panjab. I heard the government offered MSP on other drops like lentils, but not many people took up the offer. 

 

20 hours ago, proudkaur21 said:

what is surprising is that despite repeated warnings of Punjab becoming a desert, majority of the people dont care.  I guess this is what a dead conscience is.

Thing is, the farmers will walk into this mess with their eyes open, and then blame everyone else when it all goes wrong. They don't seem to have any adaptability over there.  

[5aaban]

2 hours ago, dallysingh101 said:

 

Thing is, the farmers will walk into this mess with their eyes open, and then blame everyone else when it all goes wrong. They don't seem to have any adaptability over there.  

The government should invite experts to hold mass seminars throughout Panjab to help people understand the implications in Panjabi. 

[dallysingh101]

19 minutes ago, 5aaban said:

The government should invite experts to hold mass seminars throughout Panjab to help people understand the implications in Panjabi. 

Yeah, I agree, but the way farmers used pesticides and fertilisers in the past i.e. not measuring and using the correct ratios and just guessing it, tells us a lot about the brains involved and how well they can follow procedures and technical matters. 

Rural Panjabis I meet seem hardcore cynical about every last thing, and narrowly focused on their immediate objective of money making. There is definitely a deeply rooted culture of wanting everything done for you - a culture of unearned privilege. I think Panjabi farmers have developed (probably over many decades if not centuries) a really dysfunctional and dependent relationship with the centre.

We already have a lot of agricultural universities out there. They don't seem to be doing any serious studies and development. People on forums with relatives who work in them tell me that staff just see it as a cushy number with a pension. Then, if you think about the 'green revolution' and how that shafted Panjab, if peasants are now sceptical of 'experts' even that wouldn't be any surprise.     

And honestly, at this stage of life, having been a student many times at different levels, in different disciplines, as well as having been a teacher - I think a disproportionate amount of rural apnay have 'cognitive development' issues for grander thinking. Like a lot of people like this (and I have a few as close family and lots of 'friends' from school days who are this way), they compensate with deviousness and deceit to get ahead.  

Put simply, if we have a disproportionate amount of sociopaths in our panth, they will be incapable of any greater thought of unity aside of the most base tribal one, which, even though they may feel is advantageous to themselves, is seriously detrimental and a key obstacle to any serious cultural and economic development of Panjab in my opinion.   

[5aaban]

39 minutes ago, dallysingh101 said:

Yeah, I agree, but the way farmers used pesticides and fertilisers in the past i.e. not measuring and using the correct ratios and just guessing it, tells us a lot about the brains involved and how well they can follow procedures and technical matters. 

The Green revolution introduced and really pushed the use of pesticides, fertilisers and chemicals in crop growing. A lot of farmers I've talked to aren't happy with using them either, but they say they have to in order to make the crop grow now and make a living income. I understand their situation as well,  many farmers in Panjab are now small landowners due to land being split every generation and they struggle to make an adequate living. 

In Panjab, land is split among brothers. This is also a contributing factor to lower fertility rates nowadays, because people only want one or two sons so the land isn't split into even tinier sections among them in the future. This is also one of the main reasons for mass-exodus from Panjab. 

[dallysingh101]

17 minutes ago, 5aaban said:

The Green revolution introduced and really pushed the use of pesticides, fertilisers and chemicals in crop growing. A lot of farmers I've talked to aren't happy with using them either, but they say they have to in order to make the crop grow now and make a living income. I understand their situation as well,  many farmers in Panjab are now small landowners due to land being split every generation and they struggle to make an adequate living. 

In Panjab, land is split among brothers. This is also a contributing factor to lower fertility rates nowadays, because people only want one or two sons so the land isn't split into even tinier sections among them in the future. This is also one of the main reasons for mass-exodus from Panjab. 

No one at corporate level is even trying to think of solutions - let alone actually implement them. That's the real problem. It's mental laziness too, we've had that issue of dwindling landholding since forever. Previously, pendus would jump into the army to try and get a steady income to make up for the shortfall. Now they'll run off to the west. Is this sustainable in a rapidly changing and unpredictable world? 

I don't know as Sikhs (not Panjabis or farmers) how we expect to have any global relevance or influence if we are perpetually stuck in this stuff. I think all nations will now be dealing with unpredictable weather due to climate change which will especially effect agriculture. For a state that actually revolves around farming, the lack of innovation and problem solving, and the lack of anticipation of issues I'm seeing in Panjab is disturbing. It's like 'let's forget everything and enjoy now, and then cry later'. 

Is putting so many eggs in the farming basket the crux of the problem in any case? 

Nah, it's deeper than that actually (in my opinion), I don't think our lots mindset and culture in general is one that can compete with more developed states. Dare I say it, I think a lot of our lot are actually at home in ignorance and prefer it that way.     

[5aaban]

5 minutes ago, dallysingh101 said:

No one at corporate level is even trying to think of solutions - let alone actually implement them. That's the real problem. It's mental laziness too, we've had that issue of dwindling landholding since forever. Previously, pendus would jump into the army to try and get a steady income to make up for the shortfall. Now they'll run off to the west. Is this sustainable in a rapidly changing and unpredictable world? 

I don't know as Sikhs (not Panjabis or farmers) how we expect to have any global relevance or influence if we are perpetually stuck in this stuff. I think all nations will now be dealing with unpredictable weather due to climate change which will especially effect agriculture. For a state that actually revolves around farming, the lack of innovation and problem solving, and the lack of anticipation of issues I'm seeing in Panjab is disturbing. It's like 'let's forget everything and enjoy now, and then cry later'. 

Is putting so many eggs in the farming basket the crux of the problem in any case? 

Nah, it's deeper than that actually (in my opinion), I don't think our lots mindset and culture in general is one that can compete with more developed states. Dare I say it, I think a lot of our lot are actually at home in ignorance and prefer it that way.     

Definitely, there is a severe lack of strategic goals or planning from government, agricultural universities and people. I wouldn't even consider educational institutes in Panjab as 'educational'. Many schools are 'convent' which push missionary behaviour and the English = superior mentality and universities are homes of corruption.  

It also doesn't help when people elect governments based on freebies. People need to get over freebies and actually demand governments to take real action if they want votes.