Baldev Singh, 44
Committed suicide on
January 29, 2008
(Baldev Singh’s wife Harjinder Kaur with son Jaskaran Singh at Alamgir village in Ludhiana, Punjab)
Place: Alamgir village, district Ludhiana.Family: Wife Harjinder Kaur, 48, daughter Manpreet Kaur,18, is pursuing a nursing course and son Jaskaran Singh, 14, a class VIII student.
Landholding: Had no land in his name. Was tilling a half- acre piece of land that is in his mother’s name. He grew rice and wheat in rotation and also ran a small dairy business with his four buffaloes.
Income: Rs 15,000 per month from milk but family says they got no money from agriculture as whatever they grew, they consumed.
Loan: Rs 2-Rs 2.50 lakh. The family says they took the entire amount from acquaintances.
Waiver: Not eligible.
Family’s future: They are living on dairy vincome. But with Jaskaran, Baldev’s son, still in school, the family plans to sell the buffaloes as there is no one to look after them. Some relatives have taken it upon themselves to see that Manpreet completes her nursing course and gets a job.
— Amrita Chaudhry

Sukhvinder Singh, 32
Committed suicide on
September 7, 2007
(Family of the Sukhwinder Singh at village Mehalkalan in Barnala district of Punjab)
Place: Mehal Kalan village in Punjab’s Barnala district
Family: Mother Hoshiar Kaur, 70, father Gurnam Singh, 60, wife Surinderpal Kaur, 30, and sons Baljinder, 12, a student of Class V, Lovepreet, 9, who studies in Class III and Jagdeep, 8, a Class II student.
Landholding: Five acres. Sukhvinder supplemented his income by driving a taxi.
Income: Rs 10,000-Rs 12,000 per month during wheat season and Rs 15,000 per month during paddy season. Sukhvinder also earned Rs 100 per day when he drove a taxi.
Loan: Rs 7 to Rs 7.5 lakhs from three local moneylenders. Rs 60,000 from village co-operative society and Rs 20,000 from a local bank.
Waiver:Waiver on Rs 80,000 borrowed from bank and co-operative society but not on the Rs 7 lakh borrowed from moneylenders
Family’s future: This season the village has helped the family sow its five acres. However, with their only son dead, the family plans to rent out its land, earning around Rs 20,000 per year.
— Amrita Chaudhry

... contd.