He is still identified as the face of the 2002 Gujarat riots. But 17 years later, he insists he is not what the world thinks of him. Ashok Parmar spoke to Brut India about the moments leading up to the photograph that changed his life completely.
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00:00Music
00:25When the Hindu-Muslim mix was introduced,
00:27there was a huge commotion here till 10pm.
00:30Hindus were coming on the streets
00:32and harming the Muslim shops.
00:34At that time, my position was that
00:36I had the honour of being a Muslim.
00:38Some people thought I was a Muslim
00:41because of my beard and my honour.
00:44They tried to attack me.
00:47I explained to them that I am not a Muslim.
00:50I am a Muslim.
00:51I am the owner of the Mochi shop.
00:54The Muslim shopkeepers didn't even come today.
00:57So they left me.
00:59Then I thought that
01:01if the shop is closed today,
01:03I will have to go to other areas to eat.
01:06If someone there thinks I am a Muslim
01:08and attacks me,
01:09it will be a big problem.
01:11So I went to the uncle next to me
01:13who does the old clothes business.
01:15He sells all kinds of clothes.
01:17He sells posters of political parties.
01:19He sells clothes too.
01:22I opened the door
01:24and took out a piece of saffron cloth.
01:27It was a big piece of cloth.
01:29I tore it a little
01:31and tied it on my head
01:33so that my symbol
01:35becomes the symbol of Hinduism.
01:37Saffron is the colour of Hinduism.
01:40It is the colour of Hinduism.
01:42So it becomes the symbol of Hinduism.
01:44After that,
01:46the mob that came on the streets
01:48set fire to the Hindu shops
01:50along with the Muslims.
01:52So the peace of the shops
01:54was completely destroyed.
01:56So I felt that
01:58it is not right for me to stay here.
02:00So I left from there
02:02and started going towards my house.
02:04It is a 10-15 minute walk from there.
02:06So while walking on the road,
02:08I used to go towards my house.
02:10There were 4 ways to my house.
02:12On those 4 ways,
02:14there was a board of BSP
02:16where it was written that
02:18Karnawadi Nudekar Prakar
02:20welcomes you.
02:22So I was standing there.
02:24And while I was standing there,
02:26there were 4 other people
02:28who were saying that
02:30the Hindu mob
02:32set fire to the shops
02:34along with the Muslims.
02:36They were doing all this.
02:38So what happened was
02:40that I was standing
02:42on the road
02:44and the way I was standing
02:46on the road,
02:48the mob on the road
02:50thought that
02:52I was a politician
02:54or a leader.
02:56So they were saying
02:58Jai Shri Ram
03:00to me.
03:02So I was also saying
03:04Jai Shri Ram to them.
03:06While all this was going on,
03:08a journalist came to me.
03:10He thought that
03:12BJP or some leader
03:14of BJP
03:16has come to me.
03:18He came to me.
03:20He asked me about Gujarat.
03:22So I told him about Gujarat.
03:24But he didn't believe me.
03:26And because of that,
03:28as you can see,
03:30the Hindu mob in Gujarat
03:32has set fire to the shops
03:34along with the Muslims.
03:36I was writing all this to him.
03:38So all this was happening
03:40and because of that
03:42my anger and hatred increased a lot.
03:44So I gave the answer to that journalist
03:46to his question
03:48in anger and hatred.
03:50So he thought
03:52that if I give him a picture
03:54of my anger and hatred
03:56which is correct
03:58about this stuff.
04:00So I gave him two pictures
04:02of anger and hatred
04:04after standing there
04:06after standing there
04:08and after that
04:10when I saw the picture
04:12in Aatak
04:14and the way Aatak
04:16portrayed me as a Hindu
04:18terrorist and someone
04:20threw a coin at me
04:22I didn't like it.
04:24Because the picture I gave
04:26was of my own free will
04:28and the common man
04:30who was angry
04:32because of that
04:34anger
04:36and hatred.
04:40In 2012
04:42my picture was published
04:44and there was a lot of trouble.
04:46There was a case, an FIR
04:48and a lot of things happened.
04:50Once I was fired
04:52and I died in that.
04:54And in 2014
04:56my image was released
04:58that the Ganga guy
05:00has a different face
05:02and has a different picture
05:04The Ganga guy
05:06has a different face
05:08and has a different picture
05:10The Ganga Guy
05:12has a different face
05:14and has a different picture
05:32After 2014
05:34my friendship with Kuttur
05:36has been established
05:38and whenever
05:40I meet him
05:42I go to his weddings
05:44and I went to his daughter's wedding
05:46and I went to his daughter's wedding
05:48and I went to his daughter's wedding
05:50and this way we have established
05:52a family relationship
05:54and this way Kuttur
05:56launched his book
05:58and I thought
06:00that my shop
06:02will be launched
06:04by Kuttur
06:06and it will be a good message
06:08for the people of India.