Monsanto, a controversial biotechnology and agro-industrial giant, may not have a future in India. Angry farmers from across 20 populous states in India converged in New Dehli earlier this month in support of a rally named “Monsanto, Quit India.”

By urging their Congress to adopt measures against the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill, farmers in India are adopting a stance similar to that of Costa Rica and her ongoing struggle to keep her land free from transgenic crops that are potentially harmful to the soil -and therefore the ecosystem.

Monsanto currently has a large presence in India; according to Kavita Kuruganti of the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture, 93 percent of cotton seeds in India are controlled by the company. National newspaper The Hindu quoted D. Raja of the Communist Party of India (CPI):

“If the Congress respected Mahatma Gandhi, it would ask Monsanto to quit India.”

Farmers in India are deeply concerned about the introduction of Monsanto’s genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to their lands. Costa Rica has been successful in keeping Monsanto away by directly pressuring the company and by adopting legislation at the cantonal level that makes her territories free of transgenic seeds. The situation in India, however, has been more dreadful than in Costa Rica.

The heir apparent to the British Crown, Prince Charles of Wales, has expressed deep concern about a wave of suicides by farmers in the Maharashtra state over the use of GMO crops. The English news media has investigated this issue and has found that tens of thousands of farmers in India have taken their own lives in the last few years, and many of them have done so out of despair at being unable to make a decent living.

In 2008, the Daily Mail investigated a suicide by a farmer in Maharashtra. The English reporter covering the story found a disturbing trend of farmers who have planted GMO seeds and later saw their crops fail due to severe loss of soil fertility. Deprived of the honor to provide for their families, these desperate farmers drink pesticides and suffer a horrible death.

Some Members of Parliament in India have crossed party lines to support the Monsanto’s exit from India and a greater scrutiny of the use of GMOs in their country. As seen in Costa Rica, keeping Monsanto away is an ongoing struggle -one that many farmers in India are willing to stand for.