New Delhi:
After the death of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula, politicians lined up in Hyderabad to showcase the condolences for the family. It’s been a beeline of leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leader Asish Khetan, CPI leader D Raja, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and many others at the Hyderabad University. The Dalit student death even compelled PM Narendra Modi to give his statement over the suicide.
PM Modi said, "A son of my country, Rohith, was compelled to commit suicide. What suffering his family is going through, I can feel that pain." Even, the HRD ministry headed by Smriti Irani has agreed to set up a judicial panel to probe Rohith's death. One Dalit student death has created uproar within the students and leaders across the nation.
If one death can create so much pain within our politicians then we can feel how would they react on over 55,000 farmers’ death in the country. According to a data, over 55,000 committed suicide in the country in last two years. Most of the farmers committed suicide due to debt.
The big question lies, where all the politicians were when the debt-laden growers committed suicide with their families. Everyone is trying to garner political mileage from the Dalit student death. Probably, for no one farmers are their vote banks or son and daughter of this country. In a way our politicians can’t think beyond their vote banks and take some steps to make life easier for those who grow food for the country.
Traditionally, farmers take money from moneylenders on huge interest rates and find it difficult to pay their debts which compel them to take ultimate step. Many farmers don’t get loans from banks in time to fulfil their needs.
There are hunger strikes to vigil marches; all are demanding action against the University administration and Union Minister over the suicide. But the irony is no one has even raised the voices against the suicide of farmers or tried to grant their kin a gratia of Rs 50 lakh or have visited their homes or tries to provide jobs to their kin.
If things will not be taken care off and our politicians will continue to fight for their vote banks then a day will come when our country will be left with no one to grow food.
