Sunday, July 20, 2003		Books

Healing wounds of violence
Padam Ahlawat

Healing Streams
by Sushobha Barve. Penguin,
New Delhi. Pages 240. Rs 295.

THIS is a work of non-fiction based on the aftermath of riots and an effort to heal the wounds of violence. The author witnessed the orgy of violence against Sikhs in 1984 while on a train from Mumbai to Barabanki. That event was the most frightening for her, which transformed her whole life. Sharing her second-class compartment were two Sikhs, taking back goods for their shops in Kanpur. In essence, the book is their story.

As the train pulled put of Mumbai, the author’s family learnt of Indira Gandhi’s assassination and tried to get her off the train at Nashik. By night there was palpable fear and as the train moved into Uttar Pradesh the next morning, there was apprehension of violence. Aggressive mobs moved freely on railway stations. The two Sikhs hid on the upper bunk. The train was stopped at a village near Kanpur. A mob moved into the compartment searching for Sikhs. The two were discovered and pulled to the end of the compartment and beaten with lathis. When the train began to move some people tried to throw them off the train into the river. But both clung on to the conductor’s chair. All their belongings were looted and an attempt made to take away the author’s luggage. At Kanpur, policemen got on the compartment but offered no help. Kanpur could be seen burning. They were eventually saved by a police Inspector.

Human life is so fragile that it can snap in no time and so resilient that in spite of all the violence, the two Sikhs survived. Unknown to them, their families were also saved by a neighbour until the Army moved in and shifted them to a camp. Later one of the Sikhs moved to Ludhiana, while the other continued to live at Kanpur. Both were magnanimous enough to forgive and forget and get along with life. Despite grave provocation, Punjab remained free of communal trouble throughout 1984. It soon returned to normalcy.

Having witnessed violence from close quarters, the author decided to devote her life to healing the wounds of victims of communal violence. She worked in Bhagalpur after communal riots in the aftermath of Ayodhya. The author then witnessed the Mumbai riots during 1992-1993. By then she had experience in working in various peace committees. The author worked in Dharavi and other areas of Mumbai and found mohalla committees to be very successful. The mohalla committees helped break the walls of suspicion and build trust in both communities. It was proved when Mumbai remain peaceful while Gujarat burnt.

The author atoned for her inability to protect Sikhs by devoting herself to healing the wounds of victims of communal violence. She asked if such reconciliation was possible without justice being done? No one was convicted for the mob violence in 1984 or 1992-93. However, her efforts have yielded fruit. People like her are rendering valuable service to society and this is her story.

Communal violence has had a long history. As power began to shift away from the Muslim rule and the local self-government was introduced, people belonging to the middle class began to assert themselves. Education opened up lower administrative and revenue jobs for them.

The Muslim inability to reconcile to the majority rule led them to communal politics and communalism, resulting in direct action in Bengal. Partition saw the worst communal riots in the continent. The creation of Pakistan found its new rulers, still incapable of reconciling themselves to the majority Bangladeshi rule. Later they were to reap what they had sown.

Communal passions have refused to die down and in recent times Gujarat and Maharashtra have seen the worst riots. Today, it is Ayodhya which has vitiated the communal atmosphere. We boast of a 5,000 years old civilization, but it seems to be skin deep. On the slightest pretext, the mob indulges in looting and killing while the police look on.

The book does not look at the wider question of communal riots but it explores how to soothe hurt feelings and make for good relations between the two communities to avoid communal rioting.