Between A Man & A Mob
Reader's Digest India|August 2018

A young couple from different faiths. An irate crowd intent on violence. An honourable man brave enough to do the right thing.

Rituparna Chatterjee
Between A Man & A Mob

THE GARJIYA DEVI temple near Ramnagar in Uttarakhand is crowded with people on a sunny, summer morning. Ganga Dussehra, an auspicious Hindu festival to mark the descent of the river Ganga on earth, has drawn large numbers of devotees on this day (22 May) to the shrine, not far from Jim Corbett National Park. Among the teeming multitudes is on-duty sub-inspector Gagandeep Singh making his rounds and keeping watch.

At about midday, Singh’s attention is drawn to a growing cacophony of raised voices. Hindu devotees have gathered around a lean, bearded young man in jeans and a yellow T-shirt, worn under a collared shirt, gesticulating angrily. He is completely unaware of the growing size of the crowd surrounding him.

Concerned, Singh decides to step in to see what the matter is. It turns out that the man, identified only by his first name, Irfan, had come to the temple to meet his girlfriend, who happens to be Hindu. Both the man and the woman appear to be in their 20s. However, the crowd is enraged at the Muslim man’s “audacity” to date a woman from the Hindu community, and that too within the temple premises. They have dragged the couple from their meeting spot to the centre of the temple complex. The man is to be “taught a lesson”.

Far from backing down in the face of such blind anger, Irfan holds his ground, arguing with the crowd. Concerned by the rapidly escalating situation, Singh tries to intervene but struggles to be heard above the raised voices of the crowd that is fast beginning to look like a mob. Irfan and Singh are soon swarmed by men, some of them wearing saffron stoles and shirts, raising inflammatory slogans.

“ID dikha, ID (show us your identity card),” people in the crowd repeatedly demand. A video of the incident posted online shows Singh standing beside Irfan, trying hard to calm the furious protesters, when, suddenly, something snaps.

Denne historien er fra August 2018-utgaven av Reader's Digest India.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August 2018-utgaven av Reader's Digest India.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA READER'S DIGEST INDIASe alt
From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi
Reader's Digest India

From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi

Pushpesh Pant, one of India’s pre-eminent food writers, is back with a comprehensive food history of the capital.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
Who Wants Coffee?
Reader's Digest India

Who Wants Coffee?

It’s bitter—but beloved around the world

time-read
2 mins  |
October 2024
Prevent The Pain Of Shingles
Reader's Digest India

Prevent The Pain Of Shingles

You don't have to suffer, as long as you take two important steps

time-read
3 mins  |
October 2024
The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart
Reader's Digest India

The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart

Dozens of diets are touted as ‘best’, but it’s easy to lose track of the fact that healthy eating needs to be about overall wellness, not just weight loss.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
ME & MY SHELF
Reader's Digest India

ME & MY SHELF

Journalist Sopan Joshi has worked in a science and environment framework for nearly three decades. His book Mangifera indica: A Biography of the Mango (Aleph Book Company) synthesizes the sensory appeal of India's favourite fruit with its elaborate cultural roots and natural history. He writes in English and Hindi.

time-read
3 mins  |
October 2024
SWITCHED
Reader's Digest India

SWITCHED

In 1962, nurses at a small Canadian hospital sent home two women with the wrong babies. Then, 50 years later, their children discovered the shocking mistake.

time-read
10+ mins  |
October 2024
ECHOES OF THE PAST
Reader's Digest India

ECHOES OF THE PAST

A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT BARABAR CAVES IN BIHAR REVEALS A SURPRISING CONNECTION TO A LITERARY CLASSIC

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2024
Fathers of the Bride
Reader's Digest India

Fathers of the Bride

A young woman finds a unique way to honour the many men who helped her survive her childhood

time-read
8 mins  |
October 2024
Fiction's Foresight
Reader's Digest India

Fiction's Foresight

British-Bangladeshi author Manzu Islam's works reveal startling parallels to recent political upheavals in Bangladesh, begging the question: Besides helping us make sense of our world, can stories also offer a glimpse into the future?

time-read
7 mins  |
October 2024
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
Reader's Digest India

It Happens ONLY IN INDIA

The Divine Defence Picture this: A tractor in Rajasthan‘s Banswara district,a group of loan agents closing in to seize it and the defaulting farmer and his family standing by.

time-read
2 mins  |
October 2024