The last two years have not been pleasant for Indian farmers. Two droughts in a row have taken the rural economy to the brink, leaving entire districts without water in Marathwada, forcing citizens to dig their own wells in Bundelkhand and turning a bath into a luxury in Saurashtra. The signs of a good monsoon this year have brought some relief, but one year of good rains will not solve the agrarian crisis that spread across the country and is only likely to get worse. Stories of indebted farmers turning to suicide because of their woeful plight are not going anywhere.

Which is what makes this video, from the Bharatiya Janata Party, quite staggering.

The life of a farmer after 2014 - Secured and Prosperous.https://t.co/7GCL6GVBsx — BJP (@BJP4India) July 4, 2016

The video depicts a farmer running behind clouds that are not releasing any rain, in the time before 2014 – the year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power. Unable to chase the cloud, the farmer falls to the ground and a nearby plant wilts.

Then 2014 dawns and with it comes "god's gift to India," as Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Venkaiah Naidu described him. Modi famously spoke about his naseeb, good luck, ahead of elections in Delhi in 2015, in which the BJP was completely routed.

The BJP video suggests something further: It shows a farmer in 2014 and 2015 still not getting any rain from the clouds. Instead, what floats down is a box that says Prosperous Farmer, Prosperous Nation. Around him, sprinklers are watering the crops which appear to be flourishing.

The text then points out how much money the government has allocated for drought "relif" and what it has promised to give to the state disaster response fund. Even if the numbers are entirely accurate, it still seems like complete folly for the government to try and portray farmers as prosperous at a time when nine commit suicide in just the state of Maharashtra every day.

BJP video on farmer progress since 2014 mockery of farmers' plight.So false,makes other work by @PMOIndia look fake https://t.co/m9PhQcaxNx — Sunil Jain (@thesuniljain) July 4, 2016

Cringe-worthy, patronizing and insensitive BJP video. Luckily for the government few farmers likely to see it. https://t.co/hnF4ilCtJp — Keshava Guha (@keshavaguha) July 4, 2016

In case you are not aware that farmers are dancing with joy due to #AchcheDin since 2014, pls watch & get educated. https://t.co/8Oj34uWxAU — SamSays (@samjawed65) July 4, 2016

Another 'India shining'??

Maan na maan, main tera mehmaan! https://t.co/fjEhYgbcl1 — Satvinder (@sdsanddunes) July 4, 2016



The Scroll.in Meltdown 2016 series covered the effects of the water crisis on farmers and others over the course of this summer. Reading that you're unlikely to conclude that, just because farmers may be getting some more compensation for the horrible weather, they are now jumping for joy.