________________
Strong Mind, Unflinching Spirit
The year was 1969 and the day was a most auspicious one, the day that instills the New Year with fresh hopes, new aspirations and renewed commitments. There is merrymaking and revelry everywhere. On this day people meet each other to express their good wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year. Sweets are distributed, crackers burst, lamps lit and there is illumination everywhere.
But the New Year of Vikram Samvat 2026 proved to be a black day for the residents of the city of Ahmedabad. Communal riots broke out on a large scale. Animosity suddenly broke out between two religious communities, shattering their age-old amicable relationship. Rumours lighted the fire of hatred more rapidly. Man hated man as never before and humanity was given a general go-by. Those who had lit the fire of hatred among the religious groups were deriving maximum benefits from this carnage. Anti-social elements had a field day. They were killing innocent people, including women and children, in broad daylight. Houses and shops were set on fire, property worth millions of rupees was destroyed, and corpses lay shattered on the streets, making it a virtual feast for vultures. All this in the name of God and religion !
On one evening during the days of the carnage described above, a twelve year old lad Chandu, had just stepped out of
122
