His dream of becoming a mathematics teacher and fighting corruption came to an abrupt end when Aravind Nagani, son of a farmer, “overcome” by the feeling of “injustice to farmers” ended his life on Wednesday. Asserting he was dying for the cause of farmers, the 21-year-old allegedly immolated himself at Jasdan Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) sub-yard in Vinchhiya town of Rajkot district. Son of Bhupat Nagani, a farmer belonging to Dharai village in Surendranagar district, Aravind was a meritorious student. On the recommendation of his teachers at secondary school, his father sent Aravind, the youngest of his three children, to Gujarat Vidyapith’s high school in Ahmedabad to study science. It was during this period that he was influence by Gandhian philosophy, his family said. “He used to say he wanted to become a teacher of mathematics and science. So, he secured admission in BSc in Gujarat College, Ahmedabad,” Aravind’s elder brother Odhav, a constable with Ahmedabad city police, said on Thursday, wiping off tears from his eyes. After attending his brother’s wedding on December 1, Aravind, a final year graduation student, returned to Ahmedabad for taking exams. He came back to Dharai on Monday after his exams. “Since the time he returned from Ahmedabad, he had been talking about farmers’ agitation over low price of cotton. On Wednesday, his father was in Jasdan APMC to sell their first two yields of cotton. He called up his father to inquire what prices he had realised before he set himself alight in Vinchhiya sub-yard,” said Bhala Nagani, Aravind’s cousin. “We never thought he can take such a step,” he added.
