Toxification

India’s Green Revolution was led by Punjab, ‘India’s bread basket’; a state famous for its lush rice fields and wet, fertile soil. But as farmers are misled into buying more and more agricultural chemicals which use a lot of natural resources, the water table is sinking at an alarming rate. Punjab’s water has been poisoned by the chemicals, and the farmers poison their bodies with opiates, helping them to work longer and harder. Loans from a middleman are taken out, with interest rates that are impossible to pay back. As a result, hundreds of Punjabi families are left without a father, husband or son as more and more farmers cave in under the pressure and drink their own chemicals to end their lives.