Minor ends life seeing father's helplessness to pay fee

A 16-year-old boy in Punjab committed suicide to “relieve his father of the guilt” of not being able to fulfil his dream of studying further. The incident has once again brought to the fore the predicament of debt-ridden farmers in Punjab.

Gurjinder Singh, who hung himself on Thursday night in Nagla village, was his parent’s only child and they wanted him to grow up and help them get out of debt and poverty. But now they say all their hopes have come to an end.

Gurjinder had passed the Class X examination and wanted to join a private school to study further. Apart from studies, Gurjinder was ready to sweat it out with his father during the sowing season.

Over the years, his father’s debt rose to over Rs 5 lakh. Gurjinder spoke to his father of his plans to study further, but his father’s helplessness was often writ large on his face.

Soon, Gurjinder stopped asking about his education, though it was very hard for him to give up on studies. When he could not bear it any further, Gurjinder decided to end his life.

Mounting farm debts have led to suicides in Punjab. The average Punjabi farmer is in a debt of about Rs 8 lakh. The Congress government, in its manifesto, had announced a complete waiver of farm loans.

The Amarinder Singh government has set up a three-member expert committee to suggest an action plan for debt waiver in the next 60 days. The committee met on Friday in Chandigarh.

After Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath waived farm loans, Punjab is under pressure to follow suit.
DH News Service