Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri gave India the slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’, but in the 21st century, one half of the slogan remains in shadows of poverty and deprivation.
Former Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri was among the greatest Indian leaders of History. He not only fought for the Indian independence alongside Mahatma Gandhi and other freedom fighters but also took over the reins of the country in testing times and left an indelible image among the people.
His slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” enthused the Indian soldiers and farmers when the country was on the verge of war with Pakistan in 1965. His slogan helped motivate soldiers to protect and defend India and its territory. On the other hand, it helped cheer farmers up to increase the production of food grains that simultaneously reduced the country’s dependence on food imports.
Jai Jawan Jai Kisan in Popular Culture
His slogan still resonates even today. Every single child throughout the length and breadth of the country studies it in textbooks. It has also remained in the popular political culture to address a new issue with more enthusiasm and arouse positive emotions among citizens.
In 1998, after the Pokhran tests, Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee added “Jai Vigyan” to the slogan to acknowledge the importance of science and knowledge in India’s progress. In 2009, Dr. Kailash Chandra Mishra (Former Director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Delhi) restated the slogan as “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan Jai Vigyan Jai Vidwan”.
Jai Vidwan means to acknowledge the importance of the brains that stimulated India’s economic growth in 2009, which was the aftermath of the global economic recession of 2008. And then the current Prime Minister Modi added “Jai Anusandhan”.
The Modern Version of the Slogan
In January 2019, PM Modi at the 106th Indian Science Congress in Jalandhar restated the slogan as “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan Jai Vigyan Jai Anushandhan”. He was delivering a speech on Future India covering the prospects of science and technology.
In his speech, he said that the work and life of Indian scientists resonate with testaments of fundamental and future insights with the technological advancement and nation-building. Science is proving its importance in transforming India’s present and making a progressive and sustainable future.
He further added that India needs a reliable roadmap to ramp up the industrial areas of the country and use the available research and development to get the best use out of them.
Jai Jawan Jai Kisan today
Although the slogan still stands firmly viable for any government to bring development to the country, the state of affairs speaks volumes about the ground reality. Farmers have not gained any real relief from the governments. Their situation is seldom covered anywhere in mainstream media today.
Taking into consideration facts and figures, Indian farmers continue to earn less than their deserving share in the economy. Research and development in the field of farming remain relatively low, and there is still no real solution to issues like crop burning.
Who stands to benefit from Anusandhan?
Farmers don’t stand a chance to use machinery in order to reduce their costs of production. The minimal subsidies provided to them are useless, leading to a worsening climate as well as reduced produce. It is, in fact, the corporate world that stands to benefit most from Anusandhan, not the farmers.
To utilize any form of research and development requires purchasing power which is absent for farmers of our country. The slogan if spoken about to any farmer today would be the biggest lie. Today, India is going to the moon, but thousands of farmers are committing suicide and live in poverty and haplessness for eternity.
Consequently, while Indians have a newfound patriotic emotion, where soldiers always have and will be hailed, the other real heroes of India’s growth are far from any credit or fruit that they deserve.
