The question of why suicide is such a widespread issue in India also needs to be addressed when looking at the issue of climate reform. These farmers stripping naked, holding live rats in their mouths and displaying human skulls in the streets of Delhi are radical and a hold a great significance for the local rural citizens of Tamil Nadu. However, there is a case to be argued that as the suicide rate of farmers is not located to any particular geographical area, and also occurs during varying climate instances that there are deeper underlying causes. Simanti Lahari (2014, p.26) argues that Gandhi’s politicization of non-violent suffering could be a cause as to these self-sacrificing tendencies that are rampant across the country.

 After six weeks of protest, the farmers were able to meet with Chief Minister E Palaniswami who promised to meet their demands, urging the to call off protests in Delhi. This is a massive example of how poverty and protest in countries that suffer massively from the affects of climate change has incredible impact and influence on policy reforms.

Ghandi's fasts, writings, speeches and lifestyle also introduced the idea that the body could and should be utilized as a locus for political mobilization, especially the sacrifice of the body.

Lahiri, S 2014, Suicide Protest in South Asia, Taylor and Francis, Florence.

The inability to pay back the loans has affected so many communities throughout all of India, however the Tamil Nadu farmers stand noticeably alone in Delhi to demand a loan waiver and a drought relief fund of Rs 40,000 Crore. This raises the question as to whether it is only Tamil Nadu suffering from the drought, and the conditions for farmers in other regions. While the medias depictions of the Tamil Nadu protesters has been widespread, there has not been an in depth analysis on the pure statistics of suicide rates among the farmers in Tamil Nadu and abroad. This issue, as it has deeply affected many citizens in the region and abroad has been argued heavily on social media mediums.

Looking into one Quora thread that posed the question “Why are the Tamil Nadu farmers alone in protesting in Delhi? Are the farmers from other states happy?”, these ideas are explored by a broad range of people with varying perspectives. It is however obvious that the farmers across India are suffering from climate related matters, and from apathetic governments not meeting the needs of the most heavily impacted community.

As the protests in Delhi progress, ideas of misconduct and speculations have grown in relation to whether the incredibly dramatic use of such graphic themes in the protest is entirely honest. 

These comments, however unjustified and lacking in evidence provide and idea of how some people view the extremely shocking display of political protest.

In looking at citizen journalism on Quora and the consensus of the online community towards the protests, the plea to Modi to acknowledge the suffering and demands by the Tamil Nadu locals was significant.

The last comment made by Maria Joshua, a citizen of Tamil Nadu gives a significantly strong and unique appeal to the fact that religion may have something to do with Modi’s interest in the matter, as he is a prominent Hindi nationalist leader. It should be considered, however, that agricultural policy is a state government based legislation and “without the approval of the ruling party in the states, no central government can implement anything in that state”.

Tensions surrounding the issue are growing exponentially as it has influence on such a significant portion of the population. The agricultural sector in India is massively affected by climate change and varying weather patterns, thus making it a ideal topic to analyse how policies and reforms are affected by the poverty stricken populace in rural India. This topic affects such a wide population due to the profoundly sensitive topic of suicide in poor communities, especially concerning an industry that feeds and provides for not only local residents but also citizens all over the country.

There has been recent widespread media coverage and debate about local Tamil Nadu farmer’s protests in the streets of Delhi. The controversy comes after a failure of monsoonal rains and a massive drought in the area that has affected the critical agricultural centre and lead to an increase in the suicide rates of local farm owners. The protest has been covered widely due to the shocking and graphic use of props such as human skulls, animals and ropes tied as noose by the protesters in order to draw the attention of the seemingly absent Central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.