Focus: Rajasthan's Farmer Gajendra Singh's Suicide Turns Into Dirty 'Death Politics' In Delhi, AAP Targetted!

Rajasthan's Farmer and Aam aadmi Party's active member Gajendra Singh will forever be known as the man who hung himself from a tree close to Delhi's Jantar Mantar. This incident turns and reeling under 'death politics' against AAP.

But in Nangal Jhamkhada village of Dausa district in Rajasthan, Singh will always be the farmer who tragically, in his last days, had become famous not for his gooseberries, but the 'fashionable' turbans he made to survive.

Singh, who took the extreme step during an Aam Aadmi Party rally against the land ordinance Bill, was sporting a traditional Rajasthani turban and had caught attention of many bystanders who later would see him breathe his last. The history of the turban is perhaps as sad as the death of the 41-year-old farmer.

"He (Gajendra's) didn't earn much from farming. But too proud to borrow money, a couple of years ago, he started making turbans. We were ourselves surprised to see his creativity. The entire village was fond of them. They come flocking to our home, to own one after paying Rs 50 or Rs 100," said Gopal Singh, uncle of the deceased.

Gajendra, who spent most of his time working on his wheat and gooseberries fields, was also, according to his family, active in social work. "He was well aware of his rights and always willing to agitate for them. He would travel and highlight the issues faced by farmers and the implications of political decisions," said Singh who had travelled all the way from his native to receive the body of his nephew.

"Woh dharna pradarshan bahut dil say karta tha (he would protest with all his heart)," he added.

According to Gopal, even though Gajendra was a strong-willed man, the hailstorm which hit many parts of Rajasthan last month had somehow shattered him. "All our crop were destroyed and the night before it happened was the last one when I saw him (Gajendra) happy. He was worried and often used to ask 'what will we do this summer?'. He knew he wouldn't be able to bear the brunt of the losses; not even his famous turbans would have come to his aid," said Gopal.

He, however, did add that it was out of question for his nephew to take such a drastic step. "My nephew had informed his elder brother that he would be attending a rally in Delhi. He gave us no indication that he would take such a step. He just wanted to be heard," said Gopal.

Gajendra's sister Aruna could barely speak during her long spells of crying, but whenever she did speak, all she was angered about was how 'newswallah' and 'politicians' had projected her brother. "He was a fine man. He had only studied till standard 10 but he knew about life more than those who are using his death for their own ends," Aruna told.

The 41-year-old deceased is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. His father after hearing the news of his son's demise had fainted and has been under shock ever since, the family said. "My nephew was a good man," concluded Gopal.