Self-deception, Not Self-Reliance
Two forms of ‘Mann Ki Baath’ are being heard in the country. One is the anguished ‘Mann Ki Baath’ of farmers and migrant labourers. The other is the ‘Mann Ki Baath’ that resembles the speech of a primary school boy delivered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Farmers all across the country are hitting the streets and protesting. In Punjab, normal life has been thrown out of gear with continuous agitations and ‘rail rokos’. Mumbai has come to a standstill. In Karnataka, farmers’ organisations have observed a bandh on September 28. But people’s heartfelt anguish and their clarion calls for help are not reaching the government. Amidst protests, anti-farmer and anti-labour bills are getting approved.
In this situation, enacting a political drama in the state, the Opposition, especially, the Congress moved a no-confidence motion against the BJP government of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. Although it was clear that the Congress could not unseat the government, it is a mystery why the Congress came forward with such a move. Other than providing an occasion for a discussion on the provisions of various anti-farmer laws that the government wanted to push ahead, the Opposition did not gain anything out of this. It also resulted in the postponement by at least six months the attempts of some BJP rebel leaders to overthrow the state government and replace Yediyurappa. In a way, this no-confidence motion provided the much-needed temporary relief for Yediyurappa. Though conspiracies are being hatched within the party against him, the BJP high command does not seem to have the strength to unseat him at this juncture.
In the midst of farmers’ outrage and protests, the Prime Minister who is unveiling various Bills has stated that ‘farmers will play a major role in ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharath.’ If the farmers were to indeed play such a role, why is the government outrightly rejecting the farmers’ demands and enforcing laws that are anti-farmer in nature? There is no answer to this question in Prime Minister’s ‘Mann ki Baath’ . The present laws will push self-reliant farmers to the corporate whirlpool and destroy their self-confidence. The agriculture Bills that the Prime Minister has introduced for farmers are not in support of farmers becoming self-reliant or ‘Atmanirbhar.’ Instead these laws mark the highest form of self-deception.
It is said that the Centre’s three agriculture Bills would help farmers sell their produce in the open market without any hindrance. The government is also saying that these Bills would help the produce of farmers reach national and global markets by encouraging private investment in boosting basic infrastructure. It would enable farmers to sell their produce outside APMC and help them sell their produce at competitive prices. Ironically, cereals, crude oil, onions, potatoes and others have been kept out of the list of essential items. This means that these items are out of the scope of price regulation. Besides, excluding emergency situations, the limit on private institutions hoarding essential commodities for future sales has been removed. Farmers have been so far selling their produce to APMC through commission agents. But with the new law, commission agents and APMCs will lose their significance. Eventually, the practice of the government declaring minimum support price for farmers will end. The BJP assured in its 2014 Election Manifesto that it would increase the support price to 50 per cent of the cost of cultivation. But, it is ironical that the party has forgotten this promise after winning. Now, the possibility of implementing the government’s promise about providing minimum support price is also reduced.
The country’s economy has been destroyed with the complete failure of the various programmes of the government. But for a few big corporate players such as Adani and Ambani, the industry is facing a grim situation that might push several mid-level entrepreneurs towards suicide. In this backdrop, Prime Minister Modi’s lessons on self-reliance, ‘Atmanirbharatha’, in defence of his government’s policies is more like the proverbial last nail on the coffin of the country’s economy.
The decision to remove the limit on hoarding farm produce is beneficial to corporate giants who will then be free to control market prices as they wish. Though the government has stated that farmers can benefit from an unregulated open market, it has not made any distinction between big farmers and small farmers. It is not possible for small and marginal farmers to compete with big farmers in a free market. The government has started to corporatize the agriculture sector. As the farmers will be engaged in business in the open market, it will create problems in the country’s public distribution system, adversely affecting people’s right to food. Food grains have to be purchased from big corporate houses for public distribution at a higher price. It is therefore important that the present model of purchasing farmers’ produce and selling through APMC be reviewed and a situation created where farmers are provided appropriate support price as their right and not as an act of generosity. The government must show some gratitude to the farmers for their service to the nation by providing a minimum support price to their produce. If farmers have to participate in Modi’s ambitious goal of Atmanirbharatha or self-reliance, he should first understand the concept of self-reliance. Otherwise, ‘Mann Ki Baath’ will be reduced to ‘Monkey Baath’ and the economy would remain caught in a log-jam.
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
