Monday, May 16 2005 19:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Trade reforms backed and funded by the British Government caused an agricultural crisis in India, leading to a large number of suicides among impoverished farmers, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, a leading charity in London has said.

More than 4,000 farmers had killed themselves in Andhra Pradesh since a programme of free-market measures was implemented by a "hardline liberalising regime" (Chandrababu Naidu regime) with the help of 1.65 million pounds (approx Rs 84 crore) grant from Britain's Department for International Development (DfiD), a study for the Christian Aid claimed.

According to the report, the dramatic increase in the suicide rate, which saw 2,115 farmers take their lives last year compared with 588 in 2003, is directly linked to British support for policies joining aid to economic liberalisation in developing economies.

"It is a scandal that the British Government has backed policies and pumped British taxpayers' money into schemes which have contributed to poor Indian farmers killing themselves," director of the Christian Aid Daleep Mukarji said.

"The report shows in stark detail the damage that is done to poor people when the dogma of so-called free trade is pursued in the name of poverty relief," he added.