I was touched after reading Dadaji Khobragade story in today's Times of India i.e 16th November 2010. The headline “ Farmer named by Forbes is landless today “ motivated me to read that article and write about it. Dadaji Khobragade was listed in Forbes magazine as one of the seven most powerful Rural Indian Entrepreneurs. He developed highly successful variety of paddy – HMT rice – that gives more yield than conventional varieties. He is landless today. What a pathetic situation ? He has also received The Rashtrapati award, state government's Krishi Bhusan award, and award by National Innovative Foundation for contribution in field of agriculture. Wow what a great list of awards. He must be a great man, with no formal education living in a village he developed such a great variety of rice is really a big achievement. Many highly qualified people don't get so many awards and they neither contribute so much to the society. But see this farmer who brought a revolution in the field of agriculture and is living in poverty and trying to make ends meet. I cannot understand why he did not receive any monetary contributions. He can't experiment further without any land. Awards are good for showcase but it will not fetch a living.
Its such a difficult situation in India that we honor some one with awards and then forget that person for the big contributions he made. If such things happen no one will try hard and experiment. Mitticool person, Mansukh Prajapati, who made clay refrigerators brought a revolution by building refrigerators from mud which did not require electricity. He received many awards but was running short of funds for experimentation. He took loan and is carrying his research. What i cannot understand is why the government is not funding such projects or why they don't get some sponsors ? Is it that big brands wants to associate just with big names and big stars not the rest of the masses. This problem needs to be addressed at the grass root level. Our national game , Hockey Olympic winners wanted to sell their gold medal to meet basic necessities. Why such things are happening in india ? When the government will open its eyes and do something to salvage their pride and honor. When will India Wake up truly ?
