Speeches in the State Legislatures : 1946-62

Sir, I want to strike a personal note of appeal before I conclude. This question of subsidy as I have told you in the beginning arose out of the necessity of keeping parity between world food prices and Indian food prices and there is an inherent tendency of world food prices to rise steeply. It seems to us the poor man’s livelihood, the food problem of poor India is thus chained to the speeding chariot of world food prices. This is a tragic picture indeed. But this also brings home to us the reality, a kind of inheritance that history has bequeathed to us, namely, the backwardness of our agricultural economy. If we are to face this reality, it is no use simply quarrelling over the withdrawal of subsidy either with this or that Government. It is necessary that we create an atmosphere in this country whereby we can break those chains which link us with the world food prices and make our country self-sufficient by our own efforts. Will that atmosphere be created? The success or failure of the food policy in this country depends on the answer to that question. For that purpose, with your permission, Sir, I would make an appeal, if I may make an appeal to the hon. Members opposite to treat this question of food as a non-party and non-political question. If they can do it, possibly there is some hope that we may get out of the rut of food scarcity, and there will be no trouble regarding the food of the poor people for whom they have sympathy, for whom we have sympathy, for whom everyone of us has sympathy. I do not wish to deny to anybody sympathy for the poor. If we take that attitude on the food question I am sure we may be able to solve this question. With this appeal, Sir, I take leave of the House.