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In June this year, Karwan e Mohabbat organised a festival in Hyderabad called Rehmat, to celebrate radical love and courageous kindness. ‘Rehmat’ in Urdu means compassion, kindness, and caring. The people celebrated in this festival contribute to our understanding of these concepts and to our understanding of India. Ahead of, on, and after Independence Day, we will look at them in a series. This is the second story. Read the first here.

What is more heroic than asking for peace after losing a loved one in an attack of hate? In such moments, anger is easier. But on January 7, 2018, Abdul Basheer’s family stood before the media and asked people not to seek revenge for his killing.

 “The Prophet we follow taught us to be patient. We have no right to take another person’s life,” the family said. These were not empty words. It was a call to stop another cycle of violence before it could begin.

Asking for peace is rarely seen as an act of courage. More often, people believe that revenge is the way to protect honour and self-respect. This is especially true in Dakshina Kannada, where political killings have often been followed by revenge killings. Many people in the region have lived through this cycle for years. By asking for peace, Basheer’s family tried to stop another family from suffering the same pain. 

Abdul Basheer had worked in Saudi Arabia for nearly 30 years after leaving home in search of a better life. Upon his return, he hoped to spend a peaceful life with his wife, children and grandchildren. He had missed much of his children’s early lives while working abroad and wanted to make up for that time. Six months after returning home, he opened a small restaurant in Kottara Chowki, close to where he lived. Life had finally become stable until one night changed everything. On January 3, Abdul Basheer was getting ready to close his restaurant around 10 pm, as he did every night. A friend........

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