JOIN USRam Mandir foundation: VHP felicitates families of 2002 Sabarmti Express train carnage case
"Our aim of building a Ram mandir in Ayodhya is almost fulfilled with the bhoomi poojan ceremony performed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our relatives sacrificed their lives for this day and I can say that their sacrifice hasn't gone in vain. It is a historical day for my family as our aim to build the temple is finally being realised now," said Janak Panchal who lost his brother Shailesh in Sabarmati Express train carnage case at Godhra railway station in 2002 while returning from Ayodhya after kar seva for the temple movement along with hundreds of other volunteers.
On Tuesday, as the foundation laying ceremony was being telecast live from Ayodhya, Panchal and Vilash Jadhav, who lost his father in the train carnage incident, were only two of the victims' family members who were felicitated in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel at Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP) headquarters in Paldi, Ahmedabad for their "contribution" in the Ram Mandir movement. The VHP officials said that others couldn't come due to limited gathering in view of the coronavirus pandemic and time constraint.
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Panchal, 58, recalled that he was also travelling in Sabarmati Express train on that fateful day 18 years ago when S-6 coach was set on fire leading to the death of 59 kar sevaks who were returning from Ayodhya. "My brother was one of the victims. I was also on the train but in another coach and that's why I was saved. Later, I helped in identifying dead bodies and bringing them to Sola civil hospital in Ahmedabad from where they were handed over to their relatives," he told DH after his felicitation.
In the same incident Vilas, 48, lost his father Sadashiv Jadhav who was also travelling in the coach S-6. He said, "This is a historic day for all of us. Today is the day that ended the disgrace of Hindu community which had been longing for a temple of Ramji at his birthplace. We will have a grand temple now for which we had been fighting for centuries. For me, this is like Diwali. We all are so happy."
On February 27, 2002, a violent mob had set S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express on fire at Godhra railway station burning 59 kar sevaks to death. The dead bodies were sent to Sola civil hospital in Ahmedabad from where they were handed over to their relatives. The funerals were performed under full public view leading to tension and ultimately ended up in one of the worst communal riots in the state. So far, 33 persons, all residents of Godhra, have been sentenced in the carnage case.
Meanwhile, in the function, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said that "Today ended the 500 years-long struggle for building the temple at Lord Ram's birthplace in Ayodhya. The temple had been destroyed by foreign invaders and erected a structure (dhancha) in that place. We had to deal with different kinds of fighting since then to free the birthplace for which hundreds and thousands were martyred. Those were not our times and everybody knows that it is only when the god wants certain things to happen. By everyone's effort, we completed one set of work on December 6. Since the construction of the temple was left and for that, the prime minister laid the foundation."