Where Were You? - Living Mumbai 13

12th March 1993

The black Friday that changed the course of history for India and Mumbai in particular. I was in college that time. Just out of school, I was studying in 11th standard. My junior college was near my home and I cycled to my college and back. My college was a typical strict college. It was the most silent and most boring junior college I knew. The Junior college was a part of the school, our classes were scheduled in the afternoon.

The big campus would go silent. It was during the time when a series of 12 bombs went one after another rocking the whole Mumbai. Cable television was just getting popular at that time. There was nothing like the “breaking news” at that time. News would be at pre-defined time of 7:30 PM, 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM. However on that day there were many news bulletin on the state-owned Doordarshan.

When I came home that day in the evening, I remember a neighbor telling me about the bomb blast. My reaction was “Kay boltos?” (what are you saying?”). The next few hours we all sat in front of the television trying to understand what really happened. Almost 300 people died that day and many were injured. When I look back, I wasn’t much affected by it, not physically nor personally. Call it the inability to understand the gravity of the situation or the inability to understand the reason for the problem. Except the 300 people who died that day and the many who were injured and lost their livelihood, people went along their life as usual. So much so that the next day, there was 99% of attendance in all offices.

Banners of “Salaam Bombay” came up everywhere in the city. People went to office, looking at the carnage of the previous day and then discussing the same in the safety of their offices and home. 12 bombs in one day was a big event, equivalent to the 9/11 event but somehow it got subdued. There was one news magazine called “Newstrack”, which reported the event in details. Would the situation be different if there would have been many news channel reporting the event. I really doubt it. Even during the 2006 Local train bombing, Mumbai was back on its feet in no time.

6 January 1993

The killing of 6 Hindu workers triggered a new round of riots in Mumbai. Just one month back, Mumbai had seen riots. Concentrated in Muslim dominated areas, the January riots spread to whole of Mumbai. The atmosphere was filled with mistrust and fear. Rumors were the order of the day. We heard horror stories of killing and mobs attacks. Ours is a Hindu dominated area and there were rumors of Muslim mobs attacking us. We would stock bottles and stones on the terrace. Young men would be on night patrol.

Our neighbor were the only Muslim family in the whole building. It was pretty ironic because although in the atmosphere of mistrust all around us, an unseen Muslim mob was our enemy but the Muslim family who we lived with all our life were our friends and we assured them no one would harm them if they were with us. Fortunately nothing happened in our area but the family went to their village for some days. They returned after some days and one day moved out to a Muslim dominated area in the suburbs.

Those 20 days were the most frightening days of our life. We lived a tensed 20 days in our area where nothing happened. I cannot even start to imagine the condition of the people in areas where there were actual tensions and riots.

6th December 1992

The Babri Masjid was brought down by VHP and other Hindu fundamentalist on 6th December 1992. Almost immediately there was widespread reaction everywhere in the country. Riots broke out in Mumbai too. For five days, the city came to a standstill. These was the incident that sowed the seed of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast. Anurag Kashyap’s “Black Friday” traces the conspiracy and events of the bomb blast and the true portrayal of the conspiracy leaves you numb.

The riots hardly affected our area. Even during this time, our area was relatively very quite. In those time, I was very much influenced by Shiv Sena and I supported their stance of getting back “our” temple whatever that meant and however the means. But I lived in a protected environment living in a predominately Hindu area. It was ok for me to make big statements from my protected home. The Hindu and Muslim leaders who stayed behind government-provided security also went overboard with statements and a cry for war. For days, they drove the mob for their own benefits, being responsible for thousands of deaths.

Those suffered were the poor people from both communities who were caught in the rampage. Many of them may not be concerned with why Babri Masjid was built or was broken down. It may be also possible that not all those who died were innocent. But its also true that the Hindu and the Muslim were both equally responsible.

6th December 1992, 6th January 1993 and 12th March 1993 changed the face of Mumbai. It wounded a vibrant city and it took years for the city to be normal. Muslims moved out of Hindu dominated areas and vice versa was true too. The trust was lost. innocence was lost. I have many Muslim friends. The relation between us remained normal even during the riots.

Today after 14 years, those accused for the serial bomb blast have been convicted and will be sentenced soon. 14 years ago, Bombay changed. 14 years later, the situation is quite normal now. 14 years later, I myself have changed a lot. I understand the complexity and absurdity of the situation a lot better now. 14 years ago, I was in Mumbai, scared, confused and somewhat angry. On the 14th Anniversary of the blast, I look back at a peice of history.

Where were you that day, when the world changed, when history was made?