Chhavi Bhatia
New Delhi— A 65-year-old priest at a gurudwara in Karnal, Haryana died by suicide at Kundli border on Wednesday as the peaceful sit-in by lakhs of farmers entered its 21st day. The victim, Baba Ram Singh shot himself in the evening, a day after he had joined the protesting farmers at Kundli, a few kilometres from Singhu, the focal point of Kisan Morcha. In a suicide note left behind, he wrote that he was sacrificing his life to “express anger against the government’s maltreatment towards the farmers”.
“I feel the farmers’ suffering and share their pain as they fight for their rights against an unsympathetic government. Causing injustice is a sin and so is bearing that injustice. People have returned their awards and honours in support of farmers….I am sacrificing my life,” read the note. A few hours before taking his life, he interacted with farmers at Kundli and was deeply hurt by the struggle are going through. Disgruntled at the situation, he also expressed his helplessness in alleviating the situation as well as his inability to return anything symbolic to express his anger. “I don’t have any medals to return…hence, I am offering my life,” he had written in the suicide note.
Senior Haryana police officials said that Singh was rushed to a private hospital in Panipat where doctors declared him dead on arrival. His body was shifted to Karnal where he lived.
More than 20 farmers have died since the Kisan Morcha commenced on November 26, making a daily average of one death. Farmer unions have decided to hold homage on December 20 for all the farmers who have lost their lives and became “martyrs” in the ongoing agitation. The Shraddhanjali Diwas will be held across the country in villages and tehsils from 11 AM to 1 PM.
