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Journalism of Courage
Dr Narendra Dabholkar’s son Dr Hamid, a trained psychiatrist, who spoke to Indian Express about his family coping with the grief of having lost his father, said that because a large community of activists, common citizens grieved with them, it gave the family strength to cope with their bereavement.
Dr Narendra Dabholkar, who was shot dead on August 20 in 2013, is survived by his wife Dr Shaila, son Dr Hamid and daughter Mukta and their families. Dr Hamid said after the murder coping with individual grief became possible with the support of ‘social grieving,’ grieving through creative expression and continuing the journey of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) founded by Dr Narendra Dabholkar, after his murder. The verdict on the case was announced today.
“Deep down we always knew that there was risk involved in the work my father had undertaken. But an attack of this level and that too Maharashtra, came as a big shock at various levels. From the beginning, we had no doubt in mind that this was an attack on the thought, philosophy, organisation and work my father lived for. We were also living by these tenets, not just because we were his family but because we were convinced of them. From the beginning we knew that we had to fight against that force with all the strength we could garner. And because of this, I would say that we did not get the space to fully process the personal loss in the period immediately after the incident,” said Dr Hamid.
He further said, “This was not just our personal loss but it was a great loss to many activists, common citizens who had felt that they had lost someone close to them. Dr Narendra Dabholkar’s thought and work had made a difference for them. So in that sense, our individual grieving had the support of social grieving. Because a large community grieved with us, it gave us strength to cope with our personal grief. It gave us a feeling that we were not alone. At the same time, myself being a trained mental health professional did help me personally and also my family and those close to us.
“We all could also process our grief through creative efforts like the theatre production of Ringan Natak by playwright Atul Pethe. I remember Atul saying at the time that ‘if they kill a man, we will write a play, we will pen a poem.’ I felt that this kind of grieving through creative expression takes an individual and the society forward,” he added.
On the journey of the MANS and other organisations founded by Dr Dabholkar, after his murder, Dr Hamid quoted his father, who used to say, “Andhashraddha nirmoolanala krodha pekha karunechi and upahasa peksha aapulkichi garaj asate. — Superstition eradication needs an approach rooted in compassion rather than anger and in empathy rather than ridicule.” Considered as one of his most iconic quotes, colleagues of Dr Narendra Dabholkar believe that it underlines his philosophy behind the three-decade-long movement he led.
Dr Hamid further said, “Taking forward with determination the work he was doing, was the only answer to what had happened. After the incident, Maharashtra passed the anti-superstition act, more than 1200 individuals exploiting people through superstition have been arrested and prosecuted, many serious acts like human sacrifices were prevented. With MANS’ initiative a law against caste panchayats was passed. The murder did not deter a single MANS activist from continuing their work.”
