The Week,Nov 28, 2004

Special Report

BACHELOR DAMOCLES

Single men in Muzaffarnagar are scared their families might bump them off to grab their land.

Death surprised Bhagwana Singh when he went early one morning in April to water his fields. The 82 year old farmer of Babri in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district was shot in the head. The police were at a loss to establish the motive behind the crime. Bhagwana, who owned 18 bighas(12 acres) of land, was not rich. Nor did he have any known enemy.

The police, however, noticed that his relatives were in a hurry tocreamate him without resistring a case or asking for a post-mortem examination. It lead them to suspect that the old bachelor was the victim of randwa pratha-the practice of killing unmarried brothers to prevent fragmentation of land. (Randwa in local lingo means a widow or widower, but the term includes bachelors staying with relatives.) The practice is prevalent in Muzaffarnagar and Baghpat district of western Uttar Pradesh. Ninety people have been charge-sheeted in the last five-years for randwa killings.

The eldest of Kanak Singh's five sons, Bhagwana was staying with his brother Gaje Singh. The needle of suspicion is pointing toward Gaje Singh though the prime accused in the case are some unidentified persons. Investigations are still on.

Jagmeher Singh of the same district was shot in sleep in April. In this case, too, the police suspect that his relatives wanted to hrab nine acres he owned.

About 40 such killings are reported every year, but the police claim the actual figures are three times that. "In most cases complents are not lodged with the police and relatives try to hush up the matter," said Navneet Sikera, senior superintendent of police in Muzaffarnagar, who introduced a randwa register two years ago to check the crime. Every police station in Muzaffarnagar and Baghpat maintains a register of unmarried males and childless couples living with their relatives. According to Sikera, 7,000 randwa have been identified in Muzaffarnagar. "But there are 20,000 in the district who are in the risk category."

Ilam singh, who as allegedly harassed by his relatives, hails Sikera's efforts. "Once the police came to my village and my name was registered," he said,"my relatives started behaving nicely."

"Why would I kill my brother and make my life miserable. he has just four bighas of land whereas I have 16 bighas," said his brother Nain singh. "With the increase in education and modern lifestyle the practice does not exist any more."

The problem is not education -literacy is as high as 61 percent among Jats in the affluent sugarcane belt of western Uttar Pradesh- but the fragmentation of agricultural land. "Most killings are for land. The unmarried person is quietly eliminated and his share of land taken by his relatives. Nobody bothers much about his murder," said Sub-Inspector R.P.Singh, who has been looking after randwa cases.

About 80 percent of 35 lakh people in Muzaffarnagar and 12 lakh in Baghpat districts are engaged in agriculture. The 25 percent increase in population since the last decade has put extra pressure on the land. Besides, employment opportunities are limited. There are no industries worth mention in these two districts.

Mahavir singh Rathi, Jat Mahasabha leader, who has worked more than 40 years in rural pockets of the Jatland, said shortage of employment and arable land was the root cause of the problem. "Land is very important in rural pockets of this region. To grab it people do not hesitate to adopt foul means," said Rathi.

Some people like Mange Singh, though, feel that the cases are filed to defame the Jat community. "Nothing of this sort has happened in our family. You ask my brother Balram how we look after him affectionately," he said. "He has been staying with us for long and has never felt any threat." Balram, however, welcomes the police initiative. He said he felt "safe ever since the police started inquiring about our well-being."

But more than the protective arm of the police, greater employment opportunities can help reduce the killings of bachelors in the region. Besides, bachelors must make their will and submit a copy to the police station, said Om Dutt, a medical shop owner.

Sikera has asked families of randwas for affidavits authorising the government to claim the property of unmarried males who die intestate. He also holds a meeting of old men every month to know their problems.

But greed is ingenious. In some cases, the police say, old men are given slow acting poison that makes deaths look less suspicious. In other cases, relatives take them on a pilgrimage and return alone.