The mysterious deaths in Badhaal village of Rajouri district have caught attention of the country as it is unclear till date as to what is causing loss of life of young children and others. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has taken a big and wise step in ordering the constitution of an Inter-Ministerial Team to get to the bottom of the whole thing. The idea is to bring the truth out.
Perhaps until yesterday when the inter-ministerial team was constituted, a feeling was growing among the affected families and the villagers, and communities at large that their problem was not eliciting requisite response. This had complicated the situation as so many theories crowded without concrete finding. The deaths are deaths and they leave families and villages shattered.
NEWS ANALYSIS
The theories that were doing round ever since early December when four deaths were reported in the mysterious circumstances was that some strange disease has stuck the village , triggering fear that it could be infectious and may involve more villagers. When incident after incident of these deaths emerged, it created an urgent situation. The doctors and field staff were trying to ascertain the cause, and since they were unable to draw any firm conclusion about the source and progress of the disease, if it was the case, the samples were sent outside J&K. The laboratories in Pune and elsewhere, too, were baffled as they found nothing extraordinary.
The follow up theory was that it was not a communicable disease, as had it been so, it would have infected village after village and all those who came into contact with the affected families. This was both a medical and scientific logic. Then what was it? This question remained unanswered. A Special Investigation Team was constituted to find out what was causing the deaths The SIT is continuing with its investigations.
But the anxiety and deep concern over the deaths in Rajouri village did not cease with the investigations. Some of the theories traced the whole thing to the rivalries and disputes. However, there was no firm evidence to substantiate these charges.
Such deaths in remote villages often result into a feeling that the government is indifferent to their plight. The villagers have developed fears of unknown things striking them. And, as is the environment in villages superstitions dominate the discourse, stories are woven around them. The feeling of abandonment combined with the superstitions is deadly. Therefore, it had become quite imperative that some decisive step should have been taken. The Home Minister has done that exactly
The official statement on the constitution of the inter-ministerial team led by the Ministry of Home Affairs to ascertain the cause of deaths in three incidents in the past six weeks in Jammu’s Rajouri district has established a fact that Home Minister Amit Shah is concerned over such happenings in Jammu and Kashmir. His intervention has underlined the serious approach to this grave issue in which human lives have been lost. Amit Shah has moved beyond the traditional and rhetorical assurances. This decision to constitute an inter-ministerial team speaks of the deep concerns and search for the answers to the difficult questions that have arisen in the wake of the tragedy in Rajouri.
This team will be a big help to the local administration which has been struggling for the past over 40 days to detect the cause. Until now, the effect is known but not the cause. But there certainly is a cause as without cause there can be no effect. The cause and effect go together in sequel to each other.
“The team consists of experts from the Ministry of Health and family Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Ministry of Water Resources and it will get assistance from experts from animal husbandry, food safety and forensic science labs. Only the Home Ministry could have mobilized all this, and without this the spectrum of the whole thing will remain incomplete.
It is a practical step in addressing all the issues surrounding what has been defined as mystery. The mystery has to be unravelled. Home Minister has taken a big step and it deserves appreciation as it would remove many doubts.