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Abstract

Tenant farmers’ suicides are a serious issue in Telangana State. They are a largely under-investigated phenomenon, and there has hardly been any research on why they occur. This study will focus on Nalgonda district, which has witnessed more tenant-farmer suicides than any other district in the state. Two mandals in Nalgonda district—Kanagal and Nalgonda—were selected from a list of mandals reporting suicide cases between 2014 and 2017. In-depth interviews were conducted with the families of 39 victims across 16 villages. This paper tries to understand why landless labourers are leasing-in land and the reasons underlying their suicides. It argues that uncertainty surrounding employment in the rural labour market induces tenant farmers to lease-in land. However, they also find it difficult to secure employment within the village and difficult to sustain themselves through farming. Moreover, government policies targeting farm landowners exclude tenant farmers as cultivators who face agricultural risks. This makes them highly vulnerable, leading to suicide.

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