Episode 6
After a month’s
time
Rajwinder was
unable to contact Divya for a month. He was a little surprised that Divya also
didn’t try to contact him. He was unaware that Divya was threatened that
Rajwinder would be killed if she tried to contact him. Then one news shocked
Rajwinder which was that Divya’s marriage had been fixed with a big Hindu
businessman and the date of marriage was 3rd November 1984. Rajwinder’s parents
had already shifted to Punjab and Rajwinder was also supposed to shift in the
first week of November. Rajwinder had lost all his interest in life and was
just passing his time and was continuously looking to get a job in Punjab.
Divya was leading the worst days of her life. She was unable to control her
emotions and used to cry for most of the time. Her only companion was her
brother with whom she spent most of her time. He was also quiet worried for her
and even tried to persuade his father to re-consider his decision because he
knew that his sister won’t be able to live without Rajwinder. But their father
was in no mood to listen to his advice and now with the marriage fixed, their
hopes were even more dimmed. Divya even tried to escape from her home but her
father had made preparations even for that. Divya lost all her hopes and just
prayed that only a miracle could unite both of them.
31st October
1984
Reporter of All
India Radio was reading the news. Today at 11 am in the morning the Prime
Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi has been shot by her own Sikh bodyguards. The Prime
Minister is admitted to AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences). She is
in a critical condition and the best doctors are operating on her”. In the
afternoon it was confirmed that the Prime Minister was no more and a lot of
party workers started gathering at her residence. The funeral was to be
conducted the next evening. Late in the evening, the prime minister’s son, Mr.
Rajiv Gandhi was appointed as the next PM of India. With tearful eyes the whole
nation saw Son of the prime minister taking oath as the new prime minister. But
the events which followed it were a shame to the humanity and like butchers men
looked for blood of those who were wearing a Sikh turban or a Sikhi Patka.
Rajwinder was
at the New Delhi Railway Station at that moment. It was around three in the
afternoon when he saw a large number of people mostly carrying a national party
flag gathered around AIIMS. The news had spread that the prime minister had
been shot by her own Sikh body guards and with tense faces people were
gathering at the hospital to know the exact situation. Rajwinder even saw
Divya’s father from a distance but he was unable to speak to him and was
looking to reach his house quickly.
The news had
come that the prime minister is dead and the mood in the city was tensed.
Rajwinder alone in his home was quite scared as the police was looking to
enforce section 144 in the whole city. Rajwinder did his daily prayers at home
only and the night passed with nothing much happening on the 31st night.
1st November
1984
Rajwinder woke
up early in the morning. He was looking to meet Divya for one last time before
she got married and he left for Punjab forever.
At Divya’s
house her father had called a meeting of the National party workers and the
further course of action was to be decided. He was looking to make most use of
this opportunity to win the confidence of his party’s high commission. In this
meeting it was decided to bring out the election rolls of the people living in
the area and the houses of the Sikhs were to be marked. This is clear evidence
that these riots were not a spontaneous reaction but all these things were planned
well in advance to kill the Sikhs. The SHO [Station House Officer] was called
in the meeting and was instructed that for some days the police will go to
sleep or will help us in the killing of the Sikhs; they have the support of the
high commission. Divya’s brother was listening to all this and was getting
quiet tensed.
Rajwinder took
his bath and said his morning prayers before leaving for his work. There was a
lot of tension in Delhi that day but Rajwinder was not aware about what was
happening around the city. The frequency of the buses was also quite low that
day. Suddenly he saw smoke coming out of the factories in Mayapuri and a lot of
noise coming. The mob was shouting “Aaj ek bhi sardar zinda nahin bachna chaiye
jo bhi miley, uske gale mein tyre daal ke tel daal kar zinda jala do”.
Rajwinder got worried and quickly rushed back to his house.
On the other
end, Divya’s brother told Divya everything about their father’s evil
intentions. Divya was really worried about Rajwinder now as his father would
kill him. Divya’s brother without telling anyone in their house let Divya out
of their house and told her, ”Mujhe pata hain tu uske bina reh nahin sakti ja
agar bacha sakti hain to bacha le usey. bhagwan sab theek karenge main ghar
main sab sambhal lunga. tu ja jaldi varna papa pehle udhar poonch jayenge”
To Be Continued....... Stay Tuned
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