A lesson in ‘Bharatiyata’

Kuldip Singh Kabarwal

WAY back in October 1957, I had go to Jabalpur. My uncle (an Army officer; barely 46 years old) had passed away after a massive heart attack. I travelled to Delhi and caught GT Express at 5 pm for Itarsi. From there, I was to travel by the branch line to Jabalpur. There were 60-70 passengers in the coach. In that part of Madhya Pradesh, almost all passengers were chewing ‘paan’ and smoking cigarettes or ‘bidis’. It was all smoke and suffocation. My seat was near the middle. In those days, there were two rows of wooden benches along the two sides of the coach, from end to end; and two rows back to back in the middle. The smoke smell got to me. It became quite unbearable for me to sit there. Placing my attaché case on the seat, I went to the door for some fresh air. Though the wind was lashing, I got great relief from the dense smoke. Just a few minutes had passed, when an old gentleman with a rural background, sitting near my seat, realised that it may be due to the smoke that I was obliged to leave my seat and stand at the exit. He probably spoke to the fellow passengers as well, because after a while, he came to me. With great affection, he said: “Sardar ji, please come and sit on your seat comfortably, we will all stop smoking. I have requested everyone there to do so.”

I was then just a young man of 22. I remarked: “Why should all of you suffer only for my sake? I am quite all right here. Please, enjoy and smoke at ease.” But he was adamant. Two more men came over and implored: “None of us will smoke, you kindly sit on your seat.”

I pleaded with them again and again, but those simple-minded, guileless people insisted with such affection that I was obliged to return to my seat. None of them smoked for the remaining journey.

Decades later, that scene keeps coming back to me; to my mind’s eye. I was overwhelmed with the love, compassion and fellow-feeling of those innocent people. I was touched to the core of my heart. See how they sacrificed their occasional enjoyment for the sake of a fellow traveller, one of their countrymen. 

Call it by any name, was that not a reflection or glimpse of ‘Bharatiyata’, national integration or true nationalism? A true feeling of oneness! Such a feeling exists even now amongst so many of our people. It should continue to grow.