A Story of Humanity from the Ashes of Saharanpur

SAHARANPUR: Even in times of insanity, hate and bigotry, there stand exemplary examples to prove that values, still persist and not everyone has forgotten the essence of love, care and mutual cooperation.

The story of BS Chawla and a laborer Ramzan is one such story. Chawla’s electronics shop was completely gutted during the communal violence in Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh last month. The violence erupted following a dispute between two communities over a piece of land, with the little town going up in flames.

Chawla Electronics used to be the leading electronic shop in the city with wide scale sales before the wrath of violence hit the city. BS Chawla recalled how at around 8am he started receiving calls from friends, telling him that his shop along with others was being burnt by a mob of 1000 persons and that the administration was doing nothing about it. Holding back his tears Chawla who lost everything in the violence said, “I wanted to run to save my shop but was stopped by my family members because the communal situation had flared up,”

But despite the loss he refused to blame the other community for the violence. And insisted that both were victims and both had lost because of vote bank politics.

“How can I blame people from a community where I have a sister, whose son calls me uncle? How I can blame a community from whom belongs my worker, Md. Ramzaan, who has offered me his land to open new shops and I certainly cannot blame members of a community with whom I have played while growing up in the city of Saharanpur and have many friends from!” Chawla said questioning those who were trying to prey on prejudice and communalise the common masses.

Ramzaan had been the first to step forward and offer his land to his employer to re-start his shop. Most of the workers with the Chawla Electronic shop are Muslims laborers,

Ramzan, and said as had their employer, “Yahan koi danga nahi chahta, hum sabke ghar ek doodsre se jude we hain”, Baar baar log mandir aur masjid ka mudda le kea a jatein hain, siyasiti faido ke liye” (no one wants to fight here or has problems with anyone here, the issue of Gurudwara and mosque was fuelled to polarize communities.)

“People have been talking about Muslims being the reason for this violence and I stand ashamed, here in front of you, if there has been any Muslim, involved in the arson of Chawlas shop. If they did so, they have forgotten that they have deviated from the basic principles of our religion. And also have caused misery to the people who they claim to have been standing for because this shop had many Muslim workers who earned their living from this business,” a visibly angry Ramzaan said.

“I sincerely offered my land to Chawla sahab to build a new shop on that, not because I am great, but because I am ashamed of those who had set fire to his shop,” he said.

As the day passed by, Chawla and his wife were visited by many others who tried to console them but mainly those who wanted to extend their help in rebuilding the store, which will again be known as Chawla Electronics. It is already work in progress.