THE LEADERSHIP OF Satnam and Krishna had given a fresh boost of energy to the youthful members of the Unity Council and their activities were beginning to attract attention. In addition to using the press to propagate their views, they also started showing slides in cinema halls to disseminate positive and uplifting messages. A few other entities with names like Peace Committee and Society for Amity also came up with similar objectives. But let’s be honest—their efforts were like a band aid on a gaping wound. The sectarian poison had seeped into the hearts of the people and the well-intentioned activities of these groups were a case of dancing before the blind and singing before the deaf. Lectures were organized, posters were plastered across busy chowks and bazaars, slides were shown, and a section of the population did appear to be somewhat convinced. The impact, though, was short-lived and the same persons could soon be seen reverting to the destructive path.
Although Satnam was showing signs of fatigue from the endless running around, Krishna’s energy was undiminished. And yet, her own morale was also being affected by the lack of any tangible success.
The month of August started with a heightened nervousness about the rising tide of violence in the city. Hindu and Sikh groups managed to launch a series of major attacks that caused considerable damage to Muslim neighbourhoods and sent a wave of panic through the Muslim community. As 15th August approached, their sense of insecurity was heightened by the knowledge that after Partition, Amritsar was bound to stay within India. They were also aware of the atrocities wrought by their religious compatriots on Hindus and Sikhs in West Punjab and the Frontier. Nor were they unmindful of their own actions in Amritsar. They had every reason to believe that the Hindus and Sikhs would hit them with devastating force the moment the borders were formally announced. To ward off the impending catastrophe, they took deputations to the English rulers. But they also did something else that was not just foolish but also counterproductive and became a cause for their ruin.
What did they do? The Amritsari Muslims decided to taunt the Muslims of Lahore and goad them into coming to their aid. This happened on 3rd August. A respectable member of the city’s Muslim community was sent with a special package to be delivered to the Muslim leaders of Lahore. The package contained some glass bangles, a woman’s salwar-kameez and a burqa along with the unspoken message, ‘Muslims of Lahore! The Muslims of Amritsar are being destroyed before your eyes. If you have become so effeminate that you won’t lift a finger to avenge their destruction, we advise you to wear these clothes, adorn yourself with the bangles, don the burqa and stay within the four walls of your homes.’
The taunt hit the pride of the Lahori Muslims, and they immediately went on a rampage against Hindus and Sikhs. Entire neighbourhoods were set on fire and countless numbers were brutally murdered within the space of hours.
In Amritsar, the Hindus and Sikhs had already heard plenty of tragic tales from the homeless refugees and were enraged by the spate of attacks on their community. The news coming from Lahore was the last straw. The anger of the Sikhs, in particular, knew no bounds when they started receiving reports true and false about the destruction of sacred gurudwaras in Lahore.
The administration responded to the rising tension in the city by implementing some half-hearted measures. After a period of relative freedom, curfew was reimposed across the city. Women and girls were ordered to stay indoors, public rallies and processions were banned and carrying arms in public areas was forbidden. It was also decreed that no more than five persons could assemble at any one place.
Krishna had been bursting with ideas and enthusiasm when Satnam assumed charge of the Unity Council. She had this surreal belief that she could not only halt the wave of sectarian violence but also turn the tide decisively. She took up her responsibilities within the council with great gusto but the reality of events over the last few days and the growing challenges faced by the council had deflated some of her passion.
The council had several active Hindu and Sikh members, but it was hamstrung by the lack of Muslim participation. Recruiting a few Muslims into the council had become a prime objective for Krishna and she was delighted when Satnam told her that three new Muslim members would be joining the council. This was a major achievement for the council at a time when it had become well-nigh impossible for Muslims and non-Muslims to sit at the same table. Satnam’s relentless efforts had succeeded in persuading the three to attend the next meeting of the council.
The sky was overcast with dark monsoon clouds. Satnam was heading for the council’s office for the meeting when the skies opened up. The downpour was intense and it would take a while before the meeting secured its quorum.
A curfew was once again in force throughout the city, but the council had been able to garner some privileges for its members. Each one of them had a curfew pass that enabled them to move around freely. They had also been given a jeep and driver to make sure that they reached their homes safely.
One of the three new members, a Mr Shafi, had arrived early for the meeting and Satnam took him upstairs to the barsati, suggesting they enjoy the rain and chat for a while as they waited for the others to show up.
Shafi was a tall, well-built fellow who worked at a mill in the Putlighar area. His positive approach and helpful nature had enabled him to make a name for himself in a relatively short span. Satnam was particularly happy when Shafi agreed to join the council because he needed someone who could take the message of peace and amity amongst the poorer sections of the Muslim community. It was Shafi who brought the welcome news that he had persuaded two other Muslims to join the council.
The rain was coming down in buckets now. The streets were deserted, a combination of the curfew and the downpour. Satnam and Shafi sat on two cots facing each other in the barsati, chatting.
‘So Mr Shafi, how do you see the situation? Which way is the world headed?’ Satnam said.
Shafi was silent for a while before replying with a serious expression, ‘Things are pretty grim, brother! This world is going to the dogs. There are days when I feel it’s best to leave this world.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ Satnam reached across and patted his shoulder. ‘Such despair! A man should never give up, my friend. Facing up to every challenge is what really brings out the man in you.’
‘I am with you on that,’ Shafi responded. ‘But what do you do when you see the masculinity of men taking the shape of cowardice? Let me tell you about something that happened yesterday and the day before. We have about a hundred and fifty men working at our mill, most of whom are Muslims. Over the last couple of days, I persuaded sixteen of them to fill up the membership forms for your council. A similar number had promised to sign up soon and I’d thought that I’d bring them to the meeting today and make them full-fledged members. Unfortunately, some godforsaken maulvi showed up at the mill last evening. I learned subsequently that he is a paid member of the Muslim League and has been given the specific task of stirring up sectarian passions. No sooner had this fellow done a round of the dormitory that everyone I had lined up vanished into thin air. Just imagine, some twenty-five or thirty men who had sworn by the Quran that they would be faithful to our cause deserted our ranks in a matter of minutes. I was devastated, honestly. I didn’t know if I should hang myself or strangle that maulvi.’
‘Don’t lose heart, my friend,’ Satnam again patted his shoulder. ‘We can’t achieve anything if we start giving up on our dreams. Our mission is akin to dancing barefoot on a sword. We have to keep doing what we must and, as the saying goes, “If man shows courage, the Lord shows support.” And to be fair, you’ve faced nothing yet. Look at my fate! It’s brought an unending series of obstacles in my path. Let me tell you about one of my compatriots. I have no problem with the fact we have a difference in views. Everyone is entitled to their own outlook. But how can someone sink so low that he makes such serious and baseless allegations.
‘You must be familiar with the incident at the mosque in Chowk Paragdas. I happened to be there. I wasn’t able to do much—I could neither prevent the attack nor save the lives of those who were being slaughtered. But yes, I did somehow manage to rescue a few women and children and take them to the government hospital. That was the only sin I had committed that day. And you know how my compatriot Sudarshan has been going around presenting it to the public? Well, he spices it up with his own imagination and says that Satnam provided sanctuary in his home to twenty-five notorious Muslim gangsters, that he got those gangsters to fire and throw bombs at innocent Sikhs.’
Satnam’s eyes were moist as he finished speaking. ‘That isn’t all of it, though,’ he sighed, closing his eyes as he continued, ‘the real wound that the scoundrel inflicted on me was something entirely different.’
‘What? What was that?’ Shafi’s eyes shone with empathy as he looked at Satnam.
‘How do I tell you, Mr Shafi? The very thought rips my heart to shreds. You haven’t yet had the opportunity to meet Krishna. I’ll arrange it as soon as we have an opportunity. She has this incredible personality that can persuade even the most hardened criminal to abandon his misdeeds.’
‘I am sure, I am sure,’ Shafi nodded in a trance. ‘I haven’t met Krishna yet, but I’ve already heard a lot about her.’
‘But Shafi,’ Satnam spoke with a catch in his throat. ‘How can anyone cast an evil eye on a person like her?’
‘Tauba, tauba, tauba,’ Shafi touched his ears. ‘May the Lord strike down such a person.’
‘You tell me, my friend,’ the emotions in Satnam’s heart had melted and made their way into his eyes. ‘Isn’t it absolutely unforgivable to say that I … that I … have illicit relations with a divine spirit like Krishna?’
‘Why should that get you so depressed?’ Shafi replied with bravado. ‘The moon won’t get a blot just because that scoundrel spat at it.’ But his face showed that the words had struck a blow somewhere deep.
By this time their conversation was suffused with a distinct warmth. The two men were talking like they’d known each other for years.
It was now Shafi’s turn to reveal the tragedies that had tortured his soul. He started, ‘We’ve been brought together in this council by our shared ideals, but I must share another thought that has lately come to my mind.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘I want that I should be able to pour my heart out before you with the same honesty that you’ve shown. But unfortunately, the picture that will emerge won’t be as pious and pure as yours. In fact, you will probably find it tarnished with flaws. Are you willing to hear me out?’
‘Of course I am, my friend,’ Satnam replied. ‘Who in this world is free of flaws. The only difference, Mr Shafi, is that the flaws of some get publicized while others can keep them hidden. The one who keeps them hidden is seen as pure and the one who has been exposed is called flawed. So if you think I am some kind of an angel, you are clearly mistaken.’
‘Be that as it may, I am pretty sure that your life and mine are as different from one another as the earth from the sky. But I am not particularly bothered about that because there is something more important that I need from you. Can I ask you for a big favour?
‘It’s important because there is no one in this world that I can really call a friend. I am a lonely, luckless person carrying an impossibly heavy burden on my soul. I don’t know how long I’ll have to carry this burden alone, nor am I sure if someone like you might help me lighten the load a bit.’
There was something in Shafi’s angst that left Satnam deeply moved. He stepped forward to take him in a warm embrace as he spoke, ‘My situation might not be too different from yours, my friend. It might even be worse than yours in some ways and there might be plenty of dark secrets that I haven’t yet shared with you. But all that can wait. First, let’s start with what you have to say.’
‘Before I do that, there’s still that favour that I need.’
‘And what’s that? If there’s anything that I’m in a position to provide, I won’t hesitate for a second.’
‘I need a friend, Satnam. Are you willing to extend that hand of friendship? During our conversation this evening, you have addressed me as a friend three or four times. Believe me when I say that each time you uttered the word, there was this pang of desire that arose in me saying, “I wish this man were truly my friend.”’
‘If you need a friend that much, let me assure you that every door and window of my heart is open for you.’ Without saying another word, the two men gave each other another warm hug.
One of the council members came up the steps and called, ‘Come on guys! Stop chatting and come downstairs. The quorum is complete.’
‘Let’s go, Satnam. We’ll continue this conversation another time,’ Shafi said as he got up from the cot. As they were heading down, Satnam said, ‘You still have to narrate your story, my friend. I am dying to hear it. If you’ll accept my invitation, we can go to a restaurant after the meeting, have some tea and snacks and listen to your story without being in a rush.’
‘Accepted with pleasure,’ Shafi smiled. ‘Let your invitation be the harbinger of our friendship.’