The Indian farmer has always cut a tragic figure, his fate at the mercy of the elements and the largesse of government, his back-breaking toil and poverty reduced to a romantic ideal by those who don’t know kharif from rabi. Once in a while the farmer makes the news, usually as an angry, helpless collective demanding in desperation either waiver of loans, compensation for the fickleness of weather or better remuneration for produce. The farmer is also resurrected at election time, because