Frombeing "the bad boy of Indian journalism", as a former employer called him, P. Sainath, 50, is now the non-deletable-voice-in-the-head for chief ministers, prime ministers and powers that be. With some relentless reporting from rural areas for over 13 years, covering more than a quarter of a million kilometres to tell stories that the corridors of power and urban India would otherwise not hear, spending 280-300 days of a year uncovering the mess that new economic policies have wrought in rural regions of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, is not mere journalistic work for Sainath. He has made it his life’s mission.
His searing book, Everybody Loves a Good Drought, has been a non-fiction bestseller for years and is now prescribed reading in universities. His reports on farmer suicides, debt crisis and corporatisation of agriculture in The Hindu motivated thePMO to seek a meeting, resulting in Dr Manmohan Singh’s Vidarbha visit last June-July.
The poor results of the PM’s relief package, evidenced in continuing suicides, means the stories will continue. Says Sainath, "By official estimates, over one lakh farmers have taken their lives in the last 10 years. Not a single person has been punished for it. There have been lots of relief packages, but more packaging than relief. What sort of human beings and reporters would we be to stay silent, throw in the towel?"
