Sainath interacts with XIMB students

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar, Sep 4: An interactive session with P.Sainath, the man known as the “rural reporter” of India with an in-depth discussion on `Transformation of Rural India’ was held at Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.The session stretched across topics covering the complex nature of rural India, its diversity and understanding its beauty.Sainath threw light on dying Indian languages and the threat of extinction of various technical skills, craftsmanship and knowledge in rural India and the impact of migration.He described the various aspects of Indian agriculture and the very sensitive topic of farmer suicides in India.Sainath shared his experiences and learning from his years of work and his observations about rural India over the years and its evolution.He also discussed the census and the various technical nuances that go into measuring them and how census in India needs to be rectified in the coming years.The impact of migration in rural India remained the focal point of the session with various ideas on how to restore rural livelihood especially in agriculture and the steps to be taken to ensure sustainability.Sainath shared his views on water conservation and the economics behind the same and also gave the students an in-depth analysis of farmer suicides in India.The session was carried out with much rigor and an enthusiastic audience cheered and applauded some of the well-researched views of Sainath.It left the entire audience with insightful perspectives on how to view the challenges ahead in building rural India.The session concluded with an interactive question-answer round where the students got an opportunity to interact with Sainath and to pacify their ever inquisitive minds.Sainath also shared his ideas on his upcoming projects and invited students to contribute to his vision.