New Delhi: A year after the ‘starvation’ death of an 11-year-old girl, Santoshi Kumari, in Jharkhand’s Simdega district, activists have compiled a list of 56 alleged hunger-related deaths since 2015 across the country, of which 42 were in 2017 and 2018.Kumari’s death led to a spate of similar allegations coming to the fore, with several activists alleging that linking the public distribution system to Aadhaar had led to confusion and exclusions across states, leading to people like Kumari’s family not being able to access the ration owed to them. These allegation have continued and various state government have been pulled up for not being able to provide basic amenities to those who need them most.The list has been compiled by Reetika Khera and Siraj Dutta, with contributions from Swati Narayan and the Right to Food Campaign in Odisha, Jharkhand and Delhi, based on media reports. According to them, a large majority of the deaths recorded in 2017 and 2018 are because of the Aadhaar system, which is ensuring that even some people who were able to access the public distribution before are no longer able to do so. Number of reported hunger deathsAadhaar-related deathsAadhaar in PDS/pension?201570No201672Some states20171411Yes20182814YesIn a statement releasing the data, Khera and Dutta have said,In a healthy democracy, hunger deaths would make headlines and become a matter of debate and action. Some of the cases reported here did receive some attention, but even those did not lead to the sort of sustained pressure that would force the government to do what it takes to prevent hunger deaths. Most of them barely made it to the “news ticker” of fast-paced breaking news. And despite growing evidence of the counter-productive role of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication in the PDS, the central government persists in its determination to make it compulsory across the country.The full table they have compiled is reproduced below.Name & Age Block & DistrictDate of deathDetailsSourcesShiv Kumar Majhi, 4 yrs (m)Surguja, ChhattisgarhLate May 2015Adivasi?, Family PDS ration card was cancelled; father worked as casual labourer, the family did not have a ration card; possibly PDS card was cancelledIndian ExpressJungle Singh, age unknown (m)Pendra Block, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh27 May 2015Dalit or Adivasi; reportedly did not have a single grain in his stomach as per post mortem report.Indian ExpressLambu Ram, 60 yrs (m)Bagicha, Jashpur, ChhattisgarhOctober 2015Adivasi; had to mortgage PDS ration card to meet medical expenses for his father, never got card back.Catch NewsJobha Majhi, 60 yrs (m)Sheikhpura, Bihar25 March 2016Musahar (Mahadalit); CM claimed that he had an AAY card and had got grain in January 2016.TOI reportThe TelegraphRamsurat, 50 yrs (m)NalandaJune 2016Dalit; had reportedly not eaten for 10-20 days; survived by an 8 year old sonNewsx.comGovinda 5 years, (m),Aishwarya/Munni, 2 yrs (f)Koransarai, Dumrao, Buxar, Bihar26 August, 1 September, 2018Musahar (Dalit); father in jail for alleged participation in violent protest. Family had PDS ration card, but unable to get Aadhaar card made, so were not getting rations for the past 8 months; No work under NREGA Bhaskar.com andThe WireParo, 2 yrs, Shikha, 4 yrs, and Mansi 8 yrs (f)Mandavali, East Delhi, Delhi25 July, 2018Mother was mentally unstable, father unemployed used to operate cycle rickshaw, did not have a ration cardDelhi Rozi Roti Adhikar AbhiyanIndradeo Mali, 40 yrs (m)Hazaribagh, JharkhandDecember 2016Dalit; No food cooked in house since three days before death. Family did not get ration for two months preceding death.News18.com and Dainik JagranSantoshi Kumari, 11 years (f)Simdega, Jharkhand28 September, 2017Dalit; Santoshi’s family was denied ration for six months preceding her death. Its ration card was deleted as it was not linked with an Aadhaar. RTFC Jharkhand statementBaijnath Ravidas, 40 yrs (m)Jharia, Dhanbad, Jharkhand21 October, 2017Dalit; rickshaw puller, long term deprivation; had applied for PDS ration card many times, but did not get it. Family got ration card after his death, his wife awaits widow pensionReport of fact finding by HRLNNews18.comRuplal Marandi, 60 yrs (m)Deoghar, Jharkhand23 October, 2017Adivasi; Ruplal’s family was denied its ration for two months as it could not prove its identity through ABBA.HRLN fact finding report Lalita Kunwar, 45 yrs (f)Garhwa, JharkhandOctober 2017Adivasi; Lalita’s family was denied ration for six months preceding her death.Prabhat KhabarPremani Kunwar, 64 yrs (f)Garhwa, Jharkhand1 December 2017OBC; After Sep 2017, Premani’s social security pension was redirected to someone else’s bank account linked with her Aadhaar. She did not receive her ration in Nov 2017 even though she successfully authenticated herself. RTFC Jharkhand fact findingEtwariya Devi, 67 yrs (f)Garhwa, Jharkhand25 December 2017OBC; Etwariya’s family was denied its ration due to ABBA failure. In Dec 2017 she did not receive her pension, allegedly due to authentication failure.RTFC Jharkhand fact finding reportBudhni Soren, 40 yrs (f)Giridih, Jharkhand13 January 2018Adivasi; Budhni was not issued a ration card (possibly as she did not have Aadhaar). She was not issued a widow pension. eNewsRoom and Times of IndiaLukhi Murmu, 30 yrs (f)Pakur, Jharkhand23 January, 2018Adivasi; Lukhi’s family was denied ration since Oct 2017 due to ABBA failure.RTF Jharkhand fact findingSarthi Mahtain, age unclear (f)Dhanbad, Jharkhand29 April, 2018Sarthi was denied her ration and pension as she could not go to the ration shop or bank for ABBA due to illness.Dainik Jagran and Jansatta.comSavitri Devi Mahto, 55 yrs (f)Giridih, Jharkhand2 June, 2018OBC; Savitri’s family was not issued a ration card. She did not receive her pension as her account was not linked with Aadhaar.RTFC Jharkhand fact finding reportMina Musahar, 45 yrs (f)Chatra, Jharkhand4 June, 2018Dalit; Neither Mina nor her son’s family was not issued a AAY ration card. RTF Jharkhand reportChintaman Malhar, 40 yrs (m)Ramgarh, Jharkhand14 June, 2018Musahar (Dalit); Chintaman’s family was not issued a ration card. The entire village was also deprived of rations, pensions and other basic entitlements. RTFC fact finding reportLalji Mahto, 70 yrs (m)Jamtara, Jharkhand10 July, 2018OBC; He did not receive his pension for the past three monthsDainik JagranRajendra Birhor, 39 yrs (m)Ramgarh, Jharkhand24 July, 2018Adivasi; Rajendra’s family was not issued a ration card. It also did not get social security pension entitled to particularly vulnerable tribes. Died of destitution.Report of RTFC fact finding team, NDTV.comChamtu Sabar, 45 yrs (m)Dhalbhumgarh, East Singhbhum16 September, 2018Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (Adivasi), newspaper report states that there was no food in the house for the 4-5 days before he died. Entitled to Antyodaya card (as PVTG) but did not have one. Suffered from TB.Prabhat KhabarNarayan 55yrs, Subbu 52 yrs, Venkatrama 46 yrs (m)Gokarna, Karnataka2 Jul, 8 Jul and 13 Jul, 2017Dalit brothers, The brothers’ family was denied ration for six months preceding their death. Their ration card was deleted as it was not linked with Aadhaar. PPT based on fact findingPUCL ReportThe QuintLalit Rangari, 36 yrs (f)Gondiya, MaharashtraJuly 2015Dalit; widow, two children, one of whom is visually disabled.India TodayBishnu Charan, 65 yrs (m)Rajnagar Block, Kendrapara, OdishaOctober 2015Name was struck off PDS ration card list during NFSA rollout. Had two sons, one was disabled and married; Died from the stress that his name had been put on the ‘suspect list’ of the NFSAOdisha TimesSuadei, 55 yrs (f)Ghutupali village, Bolangir, Odisha8 December 2015Did not get PDS grain the month she died.Times of IndiaTK Mohananda, 65 yrs (m)Komna block, Nuapada14 December 2015Dalit, landless. Has two mentally challenged children. Was AAY beneficiary earlier, but name was struck off PDS ration card list during NFSA rollout.The HinduKhetrabasi Pradhan, 80 yrs (m)Daspalla, NayagarhMarch 2016Could not get pension because age was wrongly recorded on voter cardOdisha Sun TimesRankanidhi Khura, 39 yrs (M)Balichhara village, Junagarh, Kalahandi, Odisha 25 March 2017Khura a mentally challenged person lived with aged mother and brother (also mentally challenged). Family didn’t have PDS card or pension depended solely on earning of their mother. Died due to prolonged unavailability of food. The New Indian ExpressBilas Singh, 30 yrs (f)Barchana, Jajpur, Odisha14 October, 2017Her husband said that she did not receive any medical assistance although he had contacted the local ASHA, ANM and anganwadi worker.The New Indian ExpressGobind Behera, age unclear (m)Shantipada, Binjhapur, Jajpur 20 May 2017Living alone after wife’s death and was surviving on the food provided by neighbours Odisha Sun TimesKunti Sahu, 35 yrs (f)Khaprakhol, Bolangir, Odisha28 July 2018Kharra (Dalit), died on Harishankar road railway station, lived there with her mother, survived by begging, which she could not do for 2 months due to illness. Mother got old age pension, not clear if they had a ration cardRTF Odisha fact finding reportKundru Nag, 68 years (f)Khuntapalli, Sadar Block, Bargarh, Odisha12 June 2018Elderly widow, husband and wife received Rs. 300 as pension; denied PDS grain on Antyodaya card. A neighbour denied their rice, was told that she could not be given it because of authentication requirements. Permission to give without authentication came too late.Odisha Post, Scroll.in.Mungre Chhura, 59 yrs (f)Jairpada, Bongomunda, Bolangir, Odisha~22 August, 2018Dom (Dalit); widowed 5-7 years ago, did not get pension, used to have PDS ration card, before rollout of NFSA, but deprived after. Ought to have been getting pension and 35kg of rice with an Antyodaya ration card.New Indian Express + RTF Odisha fact findingShrikant Dixit, 40 yrs (m)Barabanki, UPJune 2016Post-mortem report found 50gms of food in his stomachIndia.comNathu Prasad 40 yrs (m)Naraini, Banka, UP1 May 2016Dalit; had reportedly not eaten for four days, en route to the PDS shop with sister-in-law when he died. CM announced Rs. 5 lakh as relief;The HinduKhabar LahariyaDharmendra, 28 yrs (m)Soraon tehsil, Allahabad, UP23 October, 2016Dalit, “did not possess the Aadhaar card which is required to procure the subsidised ration card for families below the poverty line”, district administration has ordered action against local ration dealer.Daily MailNDTVSubhash Singh, 42 yrs (m)Dudahi, Kushinagar, UP 10 April, 2017A week before he died, the dealer refused them PDS grain, had not eaten for four days, Patrika.comShakina, 50 years (f)Bareilly, UP14 November, 2017Paralysed, weak, had Antyodaya card. The family had been denied ration under the PDS for November, because Shakina was too unwell to be even taken to the shop in a rickshaw for ABBA, as she was every month.NDTVNem Chand, 42 yrs (m)Kudaria Ikhlaspur, Bareilly, UP4 January, 2018No food in the past three days, was ailing so his 82 year old mother sold the kerosene and grain they had got from the PDS, used to work as barber but stopped after he suffered from paralytic strokeTimes of IndiaAmir Jahan, 36 yrs, m/fMoradabad, UP25 January, 2018Had applied for, but not been issued PDS ration card; family was given one after she passed awayRTFC fact finding reportRajwati 60 yrs, Rani 25 (f)Bareilly, UP5 July, 2018Committed suicide due to hardship. Ration card cancelled due to lack of AadhaarNavbharat Times and Jansatta.comKhushi, 8 yrs (f)Vedai village, Sadabad, Hathras, UP10 September, 2018Father worked as a labourer in a cold storage, but was without work for two months. Family had not eaten for a week, family does not have a ration card. Annu, her younger sister also fell unconscious, and was criticalThe WireSangeeta, 30 yrs (f), Suraj, 8 yrs (m)Daughter, 2m (f)Dudahi, Kushinagar, UP6 and 11 September, 2018 Musahar (Dalit) family, Mother and son died first and a week later 2 month old baby girl died, they had a ration card, had got grain in the previous monthNDTVFenku, 22 yrs, Pappu 16 yrs (m)Padrauna, Kushinagar, UP12-13 September, 2018Musahar (Dalit) brothers, used to get seasonal work as brick kiln workers, were weak and began to remain unwell. Died on two consecutive days.Newsclick.inSurath Kumar Gayen, 63 yrs (m)Bhatpara, West Bengal24 March, 2018His family stopped receiving PDS grains after he was missed during the 2017 digitisation drive. Did not receive pension due to lack of AadhaarReport of Right to Food and Work Campaign, West Bengal fact finding team
