Chess champ steals ‘sadbhavna’ show

Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, April 3

The UK-based chess trainer-cum-writer from Haryana, Anuradha Beniwal, clearly stole the show at the Sadbhavna Sammelan here today. The Rohtak girl made her intentions quite clear as soon as she was given the mike. 

“They have asked me to deliver a straight and positive speech (for the sake of harmony), but if it suppresses or burns pertinent questions, it is not harmony, but a cover-up,” were her opening lines that made everybody sit up. While other speakers urged the people to "forget" the recent happenings in Haryana, the firebrand youngster asserted that the damage done must be accepted. Repeatedly urged by the organisers to wind up her speech, she continued unperturbed, buoyed by the thunderous applause from the audience.

She asked the audience to acknowledge that "our own people have caused the loss and our own people have suffered," while seeking to know the reasons for such hatred. 

“We have to understand what led to such violence. Nobody torches a shop or school just like that. Let us keep the caste factor aside and consider this: We have burnt the establishments of our neighbours, our friends, our brothers. To get to the bottom of the matter, and to resolve it, we have to ask certain questions to ourselves, to our society and our government,” she held.

Anuradha said the government must be questioned why the riots had occurred.