Driven off home and hearth, man vests hope in tricolour

NEW DELHI: Walking past India Gate, passersby over the past few months have often noticed a middle-aged man lying on the pavement in the outer periphery of the war monument, gripping the national tricolour. Most dismiss him as a vagabond but Baba Ji Jana is not a beggar. It's his unique way of protesting against those who grabbed his land and demolished his house at Tirkuria village in Katak.
"I have written to the CM office a number of times to complain on this but didn't get any assurance of help in reply. Finally I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister's Office eight months back and am still waiting for the reply," said Jana. "As they (who grabbed the land) even threatened to take my life, I wrote a letter to DCP Katak, too, before coming in Delhi nine months ago, but all has been in vain. Katak police released the culprits after taking bribes on November 16 in 2011," he alleged.
Baba Ji Jana comes to India Gate every morning around 11am and sits there till evening. In the afternoon, he walks till Hanuman Temple at Baba Kharak Singh Marg and waits in line for prasad that serves as his lunch. At night, he has two options -- either to sleep at New Delhi railway station or on whatever spot he finds at Jantar Mantar.
With no respite yet for him, some people have even advised him to doctor a photograph where it appears that he is drinking sherbet with former president APJ Abdul Kalam or burn an effigy of the Prime Minister to get noticed and help matters. Jana refuses to do anything of the sort. "I didn't follow their advice but took this way to get the attention of the government instead. I won't leave Delhi unless I get an assurance from the Prime Minister's Office or the government of India," he, in a firm voice, said.