By Michael Patrick O’Brien–
While cable channel surfing the other day, I stumbled again upon one of my favorite movies from 1982. It is a wonderful movie about a fellow lawyer, Mohandas Gandhi. You likely know him as one of the greatest historical advocates for peace and tolerance, Mahatma (“Great Soul”) Gandhi, an Indian leader who lived during the middle of the last century.
One of the most powerful scenes in this movie from four decades ago involves a troubled Hindu man who comes to speak with Gandhi. The dialogue goes something like this:
Hindu man: “I’m going to Hell! I killed a child! I smashed his head against a wall.”
Gandhi: “Why?”
Hindu: “Because they killed my son! The Muslims killed my son!”
Gandhi: “I know a way out of Hell. Find a child, a child whose mother and father were killed and raise him as your own. Only be sure that he is a Muslim and that you raise him as one.”
I often have wondered if this scene from this award-winning movie, when Gandhi tells a Hindu man to raise a Muslim child to repent for his murder of another Muslim, really happened. I also have wondered what happened after this stunning verbal exchange. So, I actually researched it and found out. Here is the rest of the story.
Souren Bannerji had always thought of himself as a peaceful man. But when his wife, son, and daughter were raped and murdered by a hate-filled crowd of Muslims in Calcutta in 1946, he was led to an unthinkable response. Souren found himself joining violent Hindu mobs, seeking revenge. Before he had time to realize what he was doing, he was involved in the massacre of a Muslim family. Having killed a child, Souren knew he‘d be haunted forever. When he learned of Gandhi‘s fasting unto death to try to stop this violence, he went to him and pleaded for forgiveness. He said “I have committed a heinous crime. I murdered a Muslim family after my family was killed. My life has become a living hell. I can’t accept the additional burden of your death on my conscience. Please give up your fast.” Gandhi replied “If you want to atone for your sin, I have a suggestion… First, for yourself, go and find an orphan Muslim baby and nurture the baby as your own. You must allow the baby to grow up in its own faith.”
Souren did not forget the words Gandhi had spoken to him. In his search for an orphaned Muslim child, he found a young Muslim mother (named Maryam) with an infant baby who had miraculously escaped death. Her husband and family had been killed, she had been repeatedly raped, and now she was an outcast. One moment of madness had changed her life forever, just as it had changed Souren’s life. As they told each other of their suffering, Souren and Maryam found they had much in common. Slowly a relationship developed. One day Souren shared with Maryam the last words he had heard from Gandhi: “We are one human race. Don‘t let religion divide us.” Souren and Maryam were married. In the spirit of Gandhi, they decided they would study both of their religions and absorb the good each had to offer.
The writer who conveys this story to us met Souren in Bombay several years later. He and Maryam had two children: Maryam’s son, whom Souren had adopted, and a daughter. They told the writer, “We understand what Gandhi meant when he said, ‘Change can come only one life at a time.’” (Source: Arun Gandhi, ―Overcoming Hatred and Revenge through Love FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE, July/August 1998.)
