PROFILE OF RURAL INDEBTEDNESS 63 relying upon landlords and rich peasants to increase agricultural production, adopting the 'green-revolution' strategy of technological development without changing the pre-capitalist land relations through radical land reforms. Huge amounts of capital resources were needed to enable these rural vested interests to secure needed inputs of fertilisers, HYV seeds, implements, etc.. At first the expansion of cooperatives was utilised for this purpose and later, with the nationalisation of banks in 1969, they were asked to open branches in the rural areas. But only a part of the deposits mobilised by the commercial banks in the rural areas are being spent on agricultural development (about 16-18% of total priority sector credit) and the rest is being handed over to monopoly industrialists and businessmen. Demand for Waiver of Loans The All India Kisan Sabha has been demanding since its inception complete liquidation of old debts and scaling down of debts of Ac poor. In a country with a huge mass of people living below poverty line, with devastating floods and famines almost an annual occurrence, Nidh a demand is inevitable till the social $etup is changed and can^s of poverty are totally removed. It is necessary to press the demand/or liquidation of old debts and scaling down of new debts for the pwrer sections—agricultural workers, poor peasants and artisans^ irrespective of the fact that the loan was taken from individuals or institutions. To save the institutions, the government may have to disburse ^h<^ money, defining the sections needing relief and to what extent. Even for other sections who suffer losses due to non-payment of remunerative prices or ravages of natural calamities, it is necessary to provide relief, though the form and extent should be decided based on existing local/regional conditions and the extent of damages suffered. We should demand an effective insurance cover for such losses. The bulk of poor peasants, agricultural workers, artisans and other rural poor have still to depend on credit supplied by landlords, moneylenders and traders. In their case, a programme of action should include the demands: (i) All loans, where double the capital amount has been paid, should be annulled, and the remaining amount should be documented with a maximum rate of simple interest of 15 per cent(ii) Alternative arrangements for supply of loans to the concerned debtors must be made simultaneously with the annulment of previous loans, with the rate of interest not exceeding 10 per cent. The demand for a general waiver of all cooperative and bank crpdit cannot be supported, especially when it includes as beneficiarite those who have taken loans for tractors and other costly machinciy. It is necessary that the indebtedness situation and the existing credit supply arrangements of each state be concretely studied and proper demands formulated for each state and region. P.K TANDON Secretary, All India Ki$an Sabha