Why are doctors, lawyers and teachers more respected than farmers in India?
Number of doctors in India is nearly 8 lakhs [1] , number of lawyers is 13 lakhs [2] and the number of teachers (all the colleges imparting higher education) is nealy 11 lakhs [3] .
It is difficult to count the number of farmers (unlike doctors and lawyers who have to register themselves, and unlike teachers whose numbers can be added across universities to give a total), but the number is surely above 10 crores. Government data estimates the number of people involved in agriculture to be 26 crores [4].
As you can see, the number of farmers is approximately 80–85 times the number of all the three professionals combined.
If many people know a skill, it no longer remains unique. As a group, farmers have a lot of respect (Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan - Victory to Soldier, victory to farmer) , but the respect diffuses out at the level of an individual.
Another factor is education. The training years in medicine and law are higher than most other courses, and to become a teacher in a college requires research. For being a farmer, land is required. My uncle is a farmer and he is less educated than my father. As he couldn't get a job, he took up farming in grandfather's land.
Just to emphasise education, there was a time when doctors and surgeons were less respected than lawyers because medicine wasn't evidence or science based and surgery was done by barbers and butchers. Slowly, when the education became formalised and scientific, respect for profession increased.
Income is certainly a criteria. More income means more respect in the society, even when the money is earned illegally (Tulsidas said: Samrath ko nahin dosh gusain - Able person isn't accused). The average income of farmers depends upon states where they live, but is less than 20,000 rupees per month in all states[5] which is way less than the average salary of doctors, lawyers or teachers.
Farmers are in abundance, so Mills and markets can take produce of other farmers if one doesn’t agree on the price, while doctors, lawyers and teachers are in scarcity.
Footnotes
[1] “Doctor population ratio for India - The reality”
[2] RTI reveals: 1.3m advocates; 1 in 300 Delhi-ites a lawyer; Maharashtra lawyers ‘richest’; Jharkand, Assam, J&K fastest
[3] State-wise number of teachers for all education institutions – 2012-2013
[4] How many farmers (or) agriculturists are there in India and how many are interested to work in agricultural throughout India?