Death of an Unborn

 Death of an Unborn.

Sagar Pandey came out of the Municipal Office of Kolkata, with the death certificate of his father in hand, and muttered. Oh, Dad, you remained unborn throughout your life, and proved that you were born only by dying.

Sagar Pandey, an ITES sector expert, was born in a remote village in Bihar. He was the only son of Ganga Das Pandey, and the family lineage strangely had only one living son for 4/5 generations. His ancestors, including his grandfather Prayag Das Pandey, then Kashi Prasad Pandey, then Rishi Prasad Pandey, and finally Rudra Prayag Pandey, were all farmers who reasonably managed their families' agro-land. 

All being single male descendants, the agri-land also passed over from generation to generation without any division. All were literate enough for agricultural operations and reading the Ramayan. None had ever been to school ever, and Sagar Pandey was the first one to go to school.

Sagar was a good student. From the village school, he progressed to the district, then joined a national Institute and got a coveted job. With clear signs that Sagar could earn much more than the family occupation of farmers, Sagar was sure not to go back. 

After the parents of Ganga Das left, Sagar wanted him to sell the land and move to the city with him, leading a life of urban comfort. And that is where the problem began, they had to prove that Ganga Das was born!!

Sagar discovered that following the practice in the village, the land was not transferred to the surviving members, and it still stood registered in the name of Kashi Prasad Pandey. The transfer of the land would have been possible only when Ganga Das Pandey became the registered owner, and he approached the local body, the Panchayat. A local political leader was ready to buy the land as it is, but at half the price, and Ganga Das was not willing to sell at that price. So arguments and counterarguments ensued, and the local goon challenged Ganga Das to get the land registered in his name.

While the entire village knew the family of Ganga Das Pandey and his ancestry, the Panchayat wanted him to bring a birth certificate that he was born to his father. He requested the Panchayat itself to issue the birth certificate, but they insisted on some witness to certify that he was born in the village. 

Ganga Das was born at his Maternal grandfather's place, and he truthfully asserted that. The Panchayat then asked him to bring the certificate from the village where he was born. The fate was cruel to Ganga Das as the village where he was born did not exist any more, being submerged by the moving waters of the mighty river Damodar in earlier days, and there was no surviving relative of his maternal family who could come to his rescue. 

So he was referred to the District office, the District officer referred him back to the Panchayat and that continued for years, years and years.

Ganga Das could not prove that he was born.

And while the fight see his own birth proved was on, he fell seriously sick. Sagar Pandey, his son, brought him to Kolkata and got him admitted to a hospital, but could not save him. 

And thus, the fight to prove that Ganga Das Pandey was born ended successfully as his death certificate proved that he was born !!