Dispelling the thick clouds

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“Lighting a candle is better than cursing the darkness.” Who would disagree? What or where, however, is the candle that can be lit against the advancing clouds that today seem to threaten democracy, and threaten also the connected value of fraternity, in all parts of the world?

While speaking the other day at a literary festival in southern India’s lively city of Hyderabad, I ventured to offer a tiny response to the question. Pointing out that we the opponents of majoritarianism -- the opponents also, in India’s case, of Hindu nationalism -- want Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and everyone else to fraternize more with one another, and to do so in a spirit of equality and mutual respect, I asked for frankness about our own daily lives, and our own social circles.

How inclusive, I questioned, are these circles of ours? How normal, how common is our interaction with the “Other”? With the Muslim if we are Hindus, with the Hindu if we are Muslim? And so forth.

In India, majoritarianism’s foes include progressives, socialists, secularists, Gandhians, liberals, traditional conservatives and others. If all were counted, they would easily outnumber the supporters of majoritarianism. They would outnumber, in other words, the supporters of India as the Hindu “Rashtra” or Nation-State which Hindu nationalists have come close to establishing.

ONLY WITH OUR OWN

Most of the time, however, we, the supporters of pluralism, fail to come together. More to the immediate point, while our beliefs are inclusive, our normal daily lives are not. We interact only with our own kind. If instead of cursing the darkness from morning to night, we made our normal life more inclusive, we would be lighting a candle that expels darkness.

A few days ago, in India, the sun itself wonderfully broke through after a terrible night. The sun of fellow feeling, of humanity, came to the aid of thousands of devout Hindu pilgrims who had gathered for a sacred pre-dawn dip in the confluence of holy rivers in Prayagraj (as the city of Allahabad is now named, to avoid having to utter Islamic-sounding syllables) but who were hopelessly stranded in the middle of the immense once-in-twelve-years Hindu festival known as the Maha (great) “Kumbh”.

Why were they stranded? A horrible stampede had occurred on the sacred riverbank. A large but as yet unknown number of pilgrims were killed as a result. Bodies were thrown into the river, and roads from the riverside were jammed with vehicles. Thousands of pilgrims, many of them shivering, didn’t know where to go for warmth, food, water, or other human needs.

SOMEHOW HELP CAME

Then a miracle happened. Below is a story from the website of Varthabharati, a daily newspaper published in the Kannada language from three cities in the southern state of Karnataka:

Prayagraj: As pilgrims started gathering for the Mouni Amavasya Amrit Snan (“Nectar Bath”) at the Maha Kumbh on the night of 28 January, heavy barricading near the Sangam Nose (the confluence) caused congestion. The influx of people continued, eventually leading to a half-kilometre-long blockage.

Amid this, rumours spread that Naga Sadhus (bare-bodied ascetics) were arriving for their holy dip, triggering panic among the crowd. The barricades were broken, and people rushed forward, trampling those who fell.

The stampede claimed 35 to 40 lives and left 60 others injured. (Some later reports spoke of a much larger number of casualties.) The aftermath was horrifying, some searched desperately for their loved ones, while others clung to the hands of deceased relatives, fearing their bodies might be lost in the chaos. The hospital was overwhelmed with bloodied bodies and injured victims.

With arrangements collapsing and authorities halting entry into the area, thousands of pilgrims were stranded wherever they had reached. On 29 January, Muslims in over 10 areas of Prayagraj extended help, opening mosques, shrines, dargahs, imambaras, and their homes to accommodate 25,000 to 26,000 pilgrims. They provided food, warm bedding, and medical assistance to those in need.

According to Dainik Bhaskar (one of India’s major Hindi-language dailies, published from a number of cities), the stampede left thousands stranded as highways were jammed, halting buses and forcing many to spend the night on the streets. The following night, on 29 January, residents of Khuldabad, Nakhhas Kohna, Roshan Bagh, Himmatganj, Rani Mandi, and Shahganj welcomed pilgrims into their homes.

Mosques (or other Muslim locations) like Khuldabad Sabzi Mandi Mosque, Bada Tazia Imambara, Himmatganj Dargah, and Chowk Mosque turned into temporary shelters. Community members distributed tea, snacks, and meals. Localities organised mass food distribution [centres], serving halwa-puri and other essentials to the stranded devotees.

Speaking to Dainik Bhaskar, Mohammad Irshad of Bahadurganj (Daira) said, "After the stampede, we saw thousands struggling in the freezing night. We immediately opened mosques and dargahs, welcoming as many people as possible into our homes. We ensured they had food and a place to stay. They were our guests in Prayagraj, and we did our best to look after them."

Masood Ahmed, a teacher from Chowk area, emphasised the spirit of humanity, stating, “Hindus were performing their religious rituals, and Muslims were fulfilling their duty of humanitarian service. It was our responsibility to ensure no one suffered due to lack of food or shelter. We helped elderly pilgrims reach the station safely. We only wanted those who came here to leave with a message of humanity.”

BARRED FROM THE “KUMBH”

According to Afsar Mahmood of Khuldabad, "Despite earlier announcements that Muslims would not be allowed at the Kumbh, fate brought the event to our neighbourhoods. It was only natural for us to help."

Mohinuddin from Chowk shared a similar sentiment, saying, "We just didn’t want anyone to spend the night under the open sky. So, we opened our doors."

Mohammad Azam from Civil Lines recounted how residents quickly arranged blankets and quilts for those suffering in the cold: "We did whatever we could to ensure people didn’t struggle through the night. Food was arranged immediately."

WIDELY APPRECIATED

This display of communal harmony and humanitarianism during a time of distress is being widely appreciated. Dainik Bhaskar’s coverage highlights how the people of Prayagraj set an example of unity, proving that humanity transcends all divisions. (End of the Varthabharati story.)

Later reports stated that Sikh groups had joined the Muslims in caring for the stranded Hindus.

You might think that a story like this would have featured prominently on India’s leading TV channels and newspapers. If you think like that, you do not know today’s India, and you do not know how the country’s mainline media collaborates in the resolute, muscular drive to banish Muslims (15 percent of the national population) from visible India or the associated (and similarly forceful) drive to tarnish them. We can be thankful that at least Dainik Bhaskar (or at least one or two editions of Dainik Bhaskar) plus a media outlet called Varthabharati, based (very far from Allahabad) in southern India, acknowledged the sun that shone over northern India at the end of January.