Bihar

A BOY, A DEATH AND THE POLITICS THAT FOLLOWED

It has been hours since the sun set out towards the horizon. Having endured the scorching heat of the afternoon, it will soon vanish into the evening twilight. You, too, were like that sun—only your name wasn't Suraj; it was Bharat.

Dr. Rajiv Nayan Agrawal

Thursday, June 25, 2026 - 14:20

A BOY, A DEATH AND THE POLITICS THAT FOLLOWED

25-JUNE-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA--------------------------It has been hours since the sun set out towards the horizon. Having endured the scorching heat of the afternoon, it will soon vanish into the evening twilight. You, too, were like that sun—only your name wasn't Suraj; it was Bharat.

In writing, there is merely the difference of a vowel marker between 'Bharat' (the country) and 'Bharat' (your name), and just a single letter separating 'Bhagat' and 'Bharat'. I have come to admire your courage. I do not know the circumstances or reasons that drove you to take up arms, but your move was misguided.

The politics now playing out over your death is truly pathetic. The day you lost your life, I thought perhaps a major revolution would ensue. I imagined people would link your death to the killing of those Dalit youths, and that they would corner the police to demand answers as to why so many others had lost their lives in similar fashion before.

But looking around now, it seems everyone is intent on diminishing the stature of your sacrifice. Your death is being compartmentalized along caste lines and confined within the narrow boundaries of religion.