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| Post-agitation: penury forces shopkeeper to end life | | The only son of his parents, Bodh Raj leaves behind five children | | PANKAJ SAGAR
Jammu | Sep 6
NOT A LESSER MARTYR
Amidst the deafening sound of firecrackers and aura of sweets when entire Jammu was celebrating victory on restoration of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board after a historical agitation of two months, there was a silent death in one of the localities which witnessed maximum protests. This man, a father of five children, also committed suicide but proved to be a lesser martyr of agitation.
A daily bread earner, Bodh Raj of Jeewan Nagar, had had enough of fights with his family these two months when he could not earn a two square meal for them due to continuous shutdown. After the agitation was called off and Bodh Raj took the courage of picking up threads and looking at the life afresh that he had a major humiliation before him. Perhaps little was left inside him to face the situation when he consumed poison late on Thursday night and was reduced to ashes on Friday morning.
The parents who lost their only son, the wife and five children are now looking towards the Government as well as Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti for support. The Samiti may come forward, but little can be expected from the Government in this case as Bodh Raj is one among hundreds of those who commit suicide every year but everyone does not become a martyr.
Bodh Raj, a resident of Jeevan Nagar, was a very unfortunate person as he took this extreme step after August 31, Had he committed suicide before the said date, his name would have been registered among the martyrs who lost lives during the agitation period. Not even this, he would secure financial help for his family along with martyr status. But unfortunately, he missed the bus and fell shot by just four days as he committed suicide on September 4, exactly four days after the day on which agitation was called off.
According to his family members, Bodh Raj failed to bear humiliation due to the financial crunch, which he suffered because of two-month long agitation and committed suicide.
Bodh Raj was the only bread earner of his family that included his aged mother, wife, two minor sons and a daughter. He was a running a “dhaba” at Nai Basti near Satwari, which continuously remained close due to two-month long agitation and was his only source of income. More importantly, he was the only child of his parents.
His wife apprised this correspondent that Bodh Raj was facing sever financial crunch due to the losses be suffered during the bandh period. The family was not left with enough of money to buy the essential commodities for the sustenance. Even the family didn’t have enough of money to pay the school fee of the three children. However, the turning point came when Bodh Raj, while going to attend a marriage function along with his wife and kids, was intercepted in the way by the owner of his shop and demanded the immediate payment of rent which amount to Rs. 10000/- @ Rs 150/per day rent. Bodh was even threatened by the shop owner to vacate the shop next morning in case of non-payment of rent, family sources said.
Unable to bear the humiliation, the poor person, on return from the marriage function on the same evening, went to his shop at Nai Basti and consumed some insecticide to end his life. Not only this, Bodh was having frequent altercation with family members over financial crisis prevailing with the family. Critically, on side where the entire Jammu region is celebrating the victory of land transfer, the family of Bodh Raj has been descended under the pall of gloom and looking for help under this depressing and pathetic situation.
Now, it would be worth while to see whether SAYSS will come forward to help this victim family which only faced the backlash of Jammu agitation. Meanwhile, the people of Jeevan Nagar have urged the SAYSS to help the family under this demanding situation. But, the real question is that how many more such families are there in the region which are also simmering under the heat of financial crunch like Bodh Raj’s family suffered due to Jammu agitation and waiting for eruption of their extreme emotions and who will come to their timely rescue. |
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