A 63-year-old contract farmer, who was also a member of one of the unions protesting on the Delhi borders, committed suicide on Sunday morning. The victim, identified as Amarjeet Singh Rai, consumed sulfa tablets, which are used to protect crops from rodents, near Pakora Chowk, the protest site of BKU Ugrahan on the border with Tikri. The scene of the incident was just 200 meters from the stage erected for the president of the agricultural union, Joginder Singh Ugrahan.
“Around 8.48 am (Sunday), he called to tell me that he had taken sulfa (tablets). When I reached him at 8.55am, he handed me two typed letters before falling unconscious. We rushed him to the civil hospital in Bahadurgarh. From there he was transferred to PGI, Rohtak, where he was pronounced dead, ”said Ram Kumar Munshi, who worked with him and had been camping on the Tikri border with him since 16 December. He was also a practicing lawyer.
One of the letters he delivered before passing it was addressed to the subdivision magistrate, Jalalabad. Written by the Jalalabad Bar Association, it extended its support to the farmers’ protest over the withdrawal of the contentious agriculture bills. The other was titled “Letter to Modi, the dictator.” While he had arrived at the Tikri border on December 16, the typed letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with his signature, was dated December 18.
“He must have brought this letter from Jalalabad since he did not leave the Tikri border since December 16. He was a popular lawyer in Jalalabad and he greeted us Sunday morning with a smile on his face. We had no idea he was going to take that step. However, I was deeply disturbed from the day the agricultural bills were enacted through ordinances, ”said Amritpal Singh, a Jalalabad resident who is among those camping on the Tikri border.
Rai, who had three decades of legal practice and was also engaged in contract farming, was associated with the Ugrahan group for a long time. The union calls his letter to the prime minister his “suicide note.”
“The people of India have given you the absolute majority and power and have put their faith in you to fight for their welfare and prosperity. They hoped for a better future with you as prime minister. But it is with great sadness and pain that I have to write that you have become the prime minister of people like Ambani and Adani. Farmers and workers feel cheated by their black farm bills and fear the worst. People are in the streets, not for votes, but for the interest of their livelihoods, their families and future generations. To satisfy the interests of some capitalists, you are bent on destroying the common man and agriculture, which is the economic backbone of India. Please don’t take food away from farmers and workers just to make some capitalists happy. Don’t force them to take sulfa drugs. You have not only betrayed the people, but also your allies like SAD (Shiromani Akali Dal), ”the letter says.
“The voice of the people is the voice of God. It’s sad that you want sacrifices from us. I offer myself as a sacrifice in support of global protest if that is what it takes to shake the conscience, ”he says. Below the letter were the words “Amarjit Singh Lawyer, Jalalabad (Fazilka) Bar Association”, written in green ink. There were a few more handwritten lines in Punjabi, which translate as’ the people have lost faith in the judiciary ‘,’ farmers compulsion against Modi’s arrogance ‘,’ a drop of blood is imperative to light the flame of the struggle ‘and’ Bhartiya Kisan Mazdoor Ekta – Zindabad (long live the farmers ‘struggle)’.
His 24-year-old daughter Suman Bala, who recently got a job as an elementary school teacher at a government school in Jalalabad, said: “I can’t believe Dad took that step. He spoke to us on Saturday night and showed no stress. He told us he would be back soon. “
“He asked about buses and trains because he wanted to go back. It’s shocking that he’s been wandering around all these days with a suicide note in his pocket and sulfa tablets on his person. He had tea with us on Sunday morning and seemed to be in a good mood. We couldn’t read what was playing in his mind. We are surprised to learn that while the letter was dated December 18, he took his own life on December 27, ”Amritpal told Indian Express.
Shingara Singh Maan, Vice President of BKU Ugrahan, told this newspaper: “This is a shocking incident. We always say to our members, khudkushi nahi sangram (choose the fight over suicide) ‘No one should choose death. The government should wake up now and read the writing on the wall. It must withdraw the black laws if it is, in fact, a government for the people. “
Amarjeet is survived by his wife Bimla Rani, his daughter Suman and his son Ramanpreet, 21, who is graduating. Neither of his children is married yet. He not only participated in protests against the farm laws, but also spoke out on other issues, ”said Rohit Ahuja, president of the Jalalabad Bar Association.
Vishal Setia, General Secretary of the Bar Association, said: “He hails from the village of Mahalam in Jalalabad, where his two brothers live. He also took land by contract for agriculture. He used to grow wheat and rice. He was afraid of losing his usual source of income, which was agriculture. His family depended on him, ”said Parmod Chaudhary, an advocate and his colleague.
Members of his family left for Tikri on Sunday to bring his body. The vice president of the Ugrahan group demanded compensation for the family, a job for a member and exemption from any loans the victim may have taken.
Earlier, a farmer from the Gurdaspur district of Punjab tried to commit suicide on the Singhu border, but was saved.
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