After the incident, anger is being seen among the villagers and people of the society of Ganjbasoda area. They say that if the administration had resolved the land dispute on time, Ram Singh would not have had to take such a step.
Bhopal. There was chaos in the Divisional Commissioner’s office located in Kohefiza of the capital on Thursday, when 65-year-old Dalit elder Ram Singh Ahirwar, a resident of Behalot village of Ganjbasoda tehsil of Vidisha district, tried to set himself on fire by pouring petrol on himself in the waiting room. Amidst the suddenly rising flames and smoke, the employees and common citizens present in the office ran away to save their lives. The Nagar Sainiks deployed on the spot showed immediate presence of mind and took him out of the waiting room and controlled the situation.
What is the matter?
Ram Singh Ahirwar told the officials that 0.897 hectares of land was allotted on lease in Siyari village in the name of his mother Shakkaria. In the year 1999, the administration canceled this lease and in 2001 the same land was registered in the government road category. Since then, Ram Singh has been constantly visiting the offices of the officials.
The elderly man says that he applied several times in Ganjbasoda SDM office, but there was no hearing. In the hope of justice, he has lodged a complaint on CM Helpline 12 times so far, but every time the case was closed by calling it “dismissed”.
After the uproar, Commissioner Sanjeev Singh immediately handed over Ram Singh to the police. However, no crime was registered against him till late night. After this, the Commissioner called him to the office again in the evening and heard his entire problem and said that the matter will be investigated and an attempt will be made to resolve it.
Questions are being raised on the functioning of the administration!
This incident not only shows the suffering of an old man, but also raises serious questions on the functioning of the administration. After years of wandering from door to door for justice and making complaints, when there was no solution, he finally had to take the extreme step of self-immolation.
Anger among villagers
After the incident, anger is being seen among the villagers and people of the society of Ganjbasoda area. They say that if the administration had resolved the land dispute on time, Ram Singh would not have had to take such a step. People have demanded that the victim’s land be returned and action be taken against the guilty officials.
Cases that have come to light earlier also
Earlier also a sensational case had come to light in Bhopal Collectorate, when a young man from the capital, hurt by the non-hearing of his problem, drank poison in the Collectorate premises. This sudden incident created panic and the employees present on the spot immediately took him to the hospital. This incident also indicates that people get so frustrated with their pain and complaints that they are forced to take extreme steps like consuming poison to draw the attention of the administration.
Earlier also, a case of a youth reaching Bhopal Collectorate by bowing down and wrapping a paper in a memorandum had come to light. Even before this, many times people in the state have adopted unique and symbolic methods to convey their problems to the administration. Sometimes citizens have submitted memorandums by walking on their knees, sometimes barefoot or bowing down. The purpose behind these methods is that the administration listens to their problems seriously and resolves them soon.
Earlier also in different districts of Madhya Pradesh, farmers, unemployed youth and people from marginalized sections have similarly sent letters or applications to the officials by wrapping them in paper. This tradition has become a non-violent means of expressing protest and anguish. When there is no hearing through normal methods, people raise their voice by adopting extreme symbolic methods like bowing down, so that the echo of their problems reaches the government and administration.
Ankit Pachauri
Courtesy : Hindi News