Flashback (1980's)
I was in Delhi when Indira Gandhi was assassinated. My school was just behind AIMS and it was in the later half of the school day when we started to hear noises...noise of huge crowd. I was just 10 years old and for a 10 year old sudden loud noise means something curious but nothing more...We could see the faces of our teachers getting bleak and their lack of concentration on lessons was quite evident and surprising. Every now and then we could see a group of teachers discussing something in hushed tones. And then our principal announced an early off... I came home and saw mom really tensed. The only source of news was radio and she had put it on. She was really worried as my bro used to come back in local bus (not school bus) and his bus used to cross the area of AIMS. She left me at our neighbours place and went to the bus stop where he used get off the bus. Thnkfully he reached home safely. That evening riots broke off. Dad came home really upset. He had witnessed few of the scenes of riots where sikh community was beaten up...harmless and innocent people were being punished for a political action.
Next day we saw Delhi burning. Curfew was imposed and when we got to our roof we could see smoke from all directions. In Delhi, taxi stands were mainly owned by sikhs and almost every taxi stand was burning at that time. The people in our colony guarded the homes of sikhs whole day and night. Groups were formed to rotate the duty of guarding.
Who were these people who were guarding others? Were they hindus or muslims or christians..I guess they were human beings.
2 comments:
shalu.. this post was really moving.. mebbe because I could relate soo much to it.. i had witnessed communal riots at our place during the post-babri masjid times..
i do rmmbr, all the men were out in the night guarding the houses of hindus n muslims alike...
i rmmbr the rioteers pelting stones on the glasswindows of houses in the colony from all the sides n the only safe place in our house was the bathroom.. n i could hear them screaming to their comrades to throw acid bombs.. n in the explosion that followed, me as a kid, did not know wot was happening.. i thought the wall of our master bedroom must've collapsed by then, n these devils would get us anytime nw.
newys, i later learnt that small acid bombs dont create that kind of damage.. it only made an ugly stain on the balcony wall of our neighbours..
but the impact it had on my li'l mind was much more.. i still shudder within when i hear that kind of war cries.. even when people do that during some festivals/celebrations!
Yes Usha I had not cited an incident here. You know one of my known aunt had seen a burning old man who was a sikh running for help and nobody was allowed to help. She could not eat or sleep for days.
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