Seeds of Slow Violence

Traditional organic farming is steadily declining in India, posing challenges to ecological sustainability, Indigenous agricultural knowledge, food quality, and human health. By employing Rob Nixon’s concept of slow violence, this study analyzes the Tamil movie Kadaisi Vivasayi to understand the cinematic representation of the challenges faced by traditional organic farmers and the gradual erosion of the conditions that sustain their agricultural practices. This study adopts a qualitative approach by conducting a close analysis of the film’s narrative, characters, framing, dialogues, visual imagery, symbols, and cinematic techniques. The study further incorporates insights from a personal interview conducted by the author with Padma Shri awardee and organic farmer Cheruvayal Raman, providing first-hand experiences that offer contextual insights into the realities depicted in the film. The study has two objectives: first, to examine how the film aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2)—“End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”—by evaluating the extent to which its vision of sustainable agriculture can be realized in the context of the declining practice of organic farming in India; second, to examine the social, environmental, economic, and institutional processes that contribute to slow violence against traditional farmers. The analysis is organized into four thematic categories: ecological degradation, corporate encroachment, administrative neglect, and the importance of preserving Indigenous agricultural knowledge. The significance of the research lies in its contribution to the contemporary discussions on the preservation of traditional knowledge systems by raising awareness about organic farming.