BKU Ekta Ugrahan to Collect Suicide Data; SWA Survey on Domestic Violence

Instead of Panjab govt., Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ekta Ugrahan is going to collect data to document farmer suicides across 1,500 villages in the state. Previous surveys conducted by three Panjab universities recorded 16,606 suicides by farmers and laborers from 2000-2015. Since then, the Panjab govt. does not have data on farmer and laborer suicides. One reason is the under-reporting of suicide due to attendant stigma, another is the govt.’s lack of will to understand the reasons – mostly loans and poverty related – and compensate families who have lost a loved one. The union claims that although the govt. compensated 4,800 families with $1.6M until 2010, subsequent compensation has been sparse and only provided in isolated cases. The current compensation stands at $3.6K per family, but payments have not been made. The union’s state secretary Shingara Singh Mann emphasized the need for either a comprehensive govt. survey or compensation based on their collected data, stressing the urgency to address the ongoing crisis in Panjab’s farming communities. In another such move where citizens take up initiatives on data collection, the Sikh Women’s Aid (SWA) in Wolverhampton, UK is conducting a survey to help reduce violence against girls and women, particularly within the Sikh community. The initiative encourages women to share their experiences. Councillor Jasbir Jaspal emphasized the importance of participation to further the work needed to combat violence. On 17 Jul, the organization held a remembrance at the city’s Art Gallery for Sikh Panjabi women lost to domestic abuse and honor-based violence, marking the birthday of Surjit Kaur Athwal, killed in an honor killing in 1998.