Being an Indian, I appreciate your concern. But let me tell you, modified seeds played a large positive part in India's economic history.

In the 1960s India was reeling under a severe food shortage. We had to import wheat from the US. They were called the PL-480 imports. The wheat was of bad quality. Infact, it was stuff that the US consumers would probably have never consumed. Then there were also other concessions. Vast tracts of land were given to the US so that they could construct schools, embassies and the like.

Then in came a new breed of 'high yielding variety' seeds which ushered in the 'green revolution'. These seds helped us raise productivity, to the extent that India not only became self sufficient in foodgrains, but has now also started exporting wheat.

The problem of farmer suicides in Maharashtra has more to do with farmers not knowing how to respond to credit that has become easier to come by after the economic reforms. Their basic problem is that they are marginal farmers farming absurdly small tracts of land, and lack the knowledge base and the resources to adopt new methods that would insure against the increased risk that accompanies modified seeds. Larde tracts are still not irrigated and modern implements are seldom used.

The solution, I think, is not to regress to the old seed varieties - that would represent getting royally stuck in the middle ages. The solution is to somehow uplift these farmers in terms of modern farming methods and insurance against risk. And the size of land holdings needs to increase for the advanced technology to become financially viable.

The problem with Iraqi seeds is the "terminator" gene, which means the produced seeds won't be viable in another season. And we can all imagine what role diversity plays, health wise.

I'm sure there are myriad variables involved with the farmers and their problems but I stand by my negative assessment of the genetic varieties. This site has some interesting stats:

Genetically engineered agricultural products were released on the market without a fair and open process to assess the risks on human health and the environment or the social and economic risks to farmers and rural communities.

Family farmers' livelihoods and independence will be further compromised by genetic engineering. Genetic engineering empowers corporate agribusiness to accelerate capital and chemical intensive agriculture at the expense of family farmers and rural communities around the world, increases corporate concentration in agriculture, and poses unknown risks to the safety and security of the food supply.

Genetic engineering disrupts traditional agricultural practices creating social upheaval in rural communities and threatening agrarian cultures throughout the world.

Consumers worldwide are rejecting genetically engineered foods, driving down farm prices. This will force significant numbers of family farmers out of business.

Family farmers have been unfairly forced to assume liability for genetically engineered products that were not adequately tested before being released into the environment and food supply.

The corporate ownership of genetic resources and the corporate use of genetic engineering in agriculture is not designed to solve the problems farmers face in agriculture such as increased weed resistance, growing staple crops on marginal land, or making traditionally bred crops available to farmers worldwide, but rather to enrich corporations.

Genetically engineered seeds increase costs to farmers, have failed to perform as promised by corporate agribusiness, and, in some cases, yields have been lower and crops engineered to be herbicide tolerant have required increased use of herbicides manufactured by the corporations that market the seeds.

And this:
Two major companies in the United States, DuPont/Pioneer and Monsanto, control the bulk of the seed industry in the US. About five global partners control the seed trade in the world.

I don't know about you, but I DO NOT want two corporations to control the bulk of the world's food.

Oh, one more thing. The current issue of E: The Environmental Magazine is all about soil. They point to the myth of genetic seeds as being pest resistant. They show that there has been an increase in the use of chemicals in conjunction with the GM seeds.
We don't understand all of the ramifications of this technology but experimenting with the health of the crops, the land, and the people just doesn't seem like a good investment to me. Unless you are Monsanto.

I appreciate the various concerns you have. But as far as India is concerned, let me answer by asking a simple question. Why is it that farmers are not comitting suicide in any other part of the country other than Maharashrta? All that you said holds true for modified seeds accross the board, not just for the seeds sold to farmers in the Vidarbha area. So if problems with seeds cause suicides through increased costs, lower yields and what not, they should cause suicides accross the country. That, clearly, is not happening. Why?