No Hindu will ever forget the dreadful incident that took place on 27th February 2002, in which 59 innocent Hindus were killed as the Islamic jihadis set on fire the S6 coach of the Sabarmati Express near the Godhra railway station in Gujarat. This incident is known as the Godhra carnage.
The Hindu families, who were victims of the Islamic jihadi attack at that time, have not yet recovered from that shock. Many families lost their family heads and prime earning member, there are many who do not have any money now, and some families have ceased to exist. Today, here we will talk about two such families from Ahmedabad who lost everything in the Godhra carnage.
The Soni family of Vastral vanished
On February 27, two prominent members of the Soni family living near the Surelia Estate in Vastral were killed in the Sabarmati Express. Mansukhbhai Kanjibhai Soni and his 22-year-old son Jesalkumar Mansukhbhai Soni lost their lives in the massacre.
It is worth mentioning that at the time of this Godhra carnage, Jesal Soni’s daughter was only 6 months old. On that fateful day, the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law in this family became widows.
As the daughter-in-law was still young, she was remarried within the community and after some time, Jesal Soni’s mother and Mansukhbhai’s wife – the only member of the family – died of illness. Thus, Godhra carnage erased the name of this Soni family of Ahmedabad.
Ramol’s Panchal family left with 4 daughters under 15 years of age
Just like the Soni family, there is also a sad story of the Panchal family of Ramol. On the day of the Godhra carnage, there were five members of the Panchal family in that compartment of the train. Husband Harshadbhai Hargovindbhai Panchal, wife Nitaben Harshadbhai Panchal, and their three daughters Pratiksha, Chhaya, and Gayatri. Their other three daughters stayed at home as they were very young.
The husband and wife and their two daughters Pratiksha and Chhaya were killed in the attack by Islamic fundamentalists, and Gayatri somehow managed to save her life.
Thus, after the Godhra carnage, there was no supporting man left in the Panchal family. Only 4 daughters below 15 years of their age were left, for whom life was no longer like the others.
Here we have only talked about two families who were victims during this Godhra massacre. The families of each of those 59 massacred Hindus suffered an irreparable loss, due to which, even after 21 years, these families haven’t recovered from the shock of the Godhra carnage.
