Satananda Bhattacharya/ Hailakandi (Assam)

The Biblical saying ‘God’s will prevails’ applied exactly to a family from Silchar in South Assam, that survived the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Kashmir. For them, this is nothing short of a "rebirth," a phrase they keep repeating. Even now, the family finds it hard to believe that they are still alive.

Dr Debashish Bhattacharya, a professor in the Bengali Department at Assam University in Silchar, along with his wife and son, never imagined that they would have to return from the jaws of death in a place like Kashmir. What saved them was the family’s upbringing in a Muslim neighbourhood and a little knowledge about Islam.

They survived by using their presence of mind to recite the Kalma (Islamic declaration of faith) when the terrorists started shooting after asking religion. The terrorists spared them believing them to be Muslims.

Prof.  Bhattacharya, a resident of Shivalik Park in Silchar, had gone to Baisaran in Pahalgam with his wife and son on a vacation. The family was spared from the terrorist attack because Bhattacharya knew how to recite the Kalma.

About five minutes after they arrived at the spot, a group of terrorists approached Bhattacharya, threatened him at gunpoint, and ordered him to recite the Kalma. Since he knew it, he recited two lines, after which the terrorists left them and went towards other people.

Wife and son of Dr Debashish Bhattacharya

Currently taking refuge at a hotel in Srinagar, Bhattacharya said that the terrorists fired indiscriminately and, before opening fire, asked several tourists about their religion. A family member said they heard gunshots at a distance. When asked about it, their guide said that the noise was from a pellet gun used to scare away animals. Although the family tried to hide behind trees and bushes, the terrorists reached that spot as well. They faced the armed terrorists directly and were ordered at gunpoint to recite the Kalma and were also asked if they were chanting the name of Lord Rama. "Are you chanting the name of Lord Rama?" — terrorists asked Prof Bhattacharya.

When contacted, Bhattacharya said, "Growing up in a Muslim neighborhood, we are familiar with the Kalma. We recited it, and perhaps that saved our lives." In a shocking account, he mentioned that another tourist who could not recite the Kalma, was shot dead on the spot.

"We have never seen or imagined anything like this in our lives. The gunfire created a chaotic situation. We somehow made our way along the wall of a nearby building and reached the main road," he said.

"We did not suffer any physical injury, but we still cannot relax. We never imagined that something like this could happen in our lives," he said, adding that his entire family was still in a state of trauma.

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The survival strategy has, however, not gone down well with many on social media. While some have disapproved of it, a few have gone so far as to say that the man knew how to recite the Kalma because he was a 'communist'. But, those who could realise the situation, have commented that the family survived by using their intelligence and that this is not the time for politics. Many have also said that everyone should unite and raise their voice against terrorism.