It has been 22 years since Islamic fanatics attacked Sabarmati Express train and burnt down 58 Hindu pilgrims within the train’s S-6 and S-7 coach. After recent pran pratishtha of Ram Lalla recently, it’s imperative to debunk misleading narratives surrounding the attack on Ram devotees.
Rohan Giri
On the morning of February 27, 2002, Sabarmati Express, on its way to Ahmedabad, came to an abrupt halt at the Phalia signal that is located within a Muslim slum covering both sides of the railway track. A person on board the train applied the emergency brake, bringing the train to a halt.
Upon the train’s stoppage, shouts of “Maro, Kapo (kato), Badhane Jalavi Do (Burn them all)” resonated sounded from all sides. While the passengers were in deep sleep, they were abruptly awakened upon hearing uproar. To their horror, they discovered that a multitude of thousands had encircled the train with explicit intention of causing harm to them. Who comprised the individuals in this assemblage? What was the motivation behind these individuals’ determination to commit murder? What discourse did the foreign media attempt to generate?
These questions should arise in minds of every individual, as this incident was not merely a train fire. It resulted in tragic death of 58 innocent Hindus leading to an unforgettable event in the history of western Indian state, Gujarat.
(Rohan is a journalism graduate from Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) New Delhi, and Manager Operations at CIHS.)