An impoverished Uttar Pradesh farmer, pushed to the wall by corrupt officials and land sharks, wants to end his life. He has appealed to the President for permission. Anil Pandey reports
Chandan Singh Banjara’s story is one of never-ending struggle. The land mafia has been eyeing the western Uttar Pradesh farmer’s four-acre plot for 16 years. All he seeks is justice. The peasant is a defeated man today. He wants to end his life.
Running from pillar to post has taken its toll on his health – and morale. A resident of Yahiyapur village of Muzaffarnagar district, Banjara is burdened with a debt that runs into several thousand rupees. He does not have the means to pay up – what he earns is barely enough to feed a family of 11. To make matters worse, he has been handed an electricity bill of Rs 1 lakh. He is at his tether's end.
But suicide is a culpable offence. He attempted suicide several times in the past only to survive. After one such abortive bid in front of the district magistrate, he was jailed for 14 days. When the term ended, he refused to walk free. “I got two square meals a day in jail,” says Banjara. “Outside I had to go hungry more often than not.” The police physically carried him back to his village. Banjara is not taking any chances this time around. He has appealed to the President of India for permission for himself and his family to commit suicide.
Banjara's troubles began in 1985, when under a scheme started by the then government, he took Rs 10,000 as loan to dig a tube well. Within five years, he returned Rs 5700. Then, the Janata Dal government led by V.P. Singh announced a waiver of all agricultural loans below Rs 10,000. A government official demanded a bribe of Rs 2000 to put his name on the waiver list. Banjara refused to pay. Consequently, the officer did not put his name on the list.
Chandan Singh Banjara’s story is one of never-ending struggle. The land mafia has been eyeing the western Uttar Pradesh farmer’s four-acre plot for 16 years. All he seeks is justice. The peasant is a defeated man today. He wants to end his life.
Running from pillar to post has taken its toll on his health – and morale. A resident of Yahiyapur village of Muzaffarnagar district, Banjara is burdened with a debt that runs into several thousand rupees. He does not have the means to pay up – what he earns is barely enough to feed a family of 11. To make matters worse, he has been handed an electricity bill of Rs 1 lakh. He is at his tether's end.
But suicide is a culpable offence. He attempted suicide several times in the past only to survive. After one such abortive bid in front of the district magistrate, he was jailed for 14 days. When the term ended, he refused to walk free. “I got two square meals a day in jail,” says Banjara. “Outside I had to go hungry more often than not.” The police physically carried him back to his village. Banjara is not taking any chances this time around. He has appealed to the President of India for permission for himself and his family to commit suicide.
Banjara's troubles began in 1985, when under a scheme started by the then government, he took Rs 10,000 as loan to dig a tube well. Within five years, he returned Rs 5700. Then, the Janata Dal government led by V.P. Singh announced a waiver of all agricultural loans below Rs 10,000. A government official demanded a bribe of Rs 2000 to put his name on the waiver list. Banjara refused to pay. Consequently, the officer did not put his name on the list.
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