AHMEDABAD: Her right hand got fractured and neck severely strained in the post-Godhra violence of 2002. But 102-year-old Rama Mali fought like a lioness to make sure that her kids are not harmed. After moving them to a safer place, she took a vow to dedicate the rest of her life in making India a land of peace, as dreamt by Mahatma Gandhi.
Rama Ba, as children call her, is now spreading Bapu's message on non-violence, female education and sanitation in Dhana Suthar ni Pol in the Walled City.
Originally from Indore, Mali had shifted to Ahmedabad 80 years back after her marriage to Ramlal who ran a khakra business. "About 15 houses in my pol had been set on fire by a mob a day before the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited refugee camps," she remembers.
"The city was seething with rage. One morning, I had gone to a temple with my kids. On the way, we faced an angry mob which was hurling stones at people. My world was about to come to a grinding halt. I hid my kids behind a car and challenged the rioters who broke my right hand but spared my life," she says.
"Mobs had come face to face in several areas of Relief Road. But I held the national flag and walked in the narrow lanes to spread the message of communal harmony... my prime targets were the youths whom I motivated to join the war against communal hatred. Soon, a group of like-minded people started accompanying me."
"I had seen Bapu and travelled several miles to hear him addressing many rallies during freedom struggle. Gandhiji devoted his entire life to cementing communal harmony. I remember a rally where he said he wants India to be a country where all communities live in perfect harmony," Mali said with an unmistakable sparkle in her eyes.
For Mali's family it was a memorable day on February 22, when she turned 102. While celebrating the occasion, Rama Ba didn't miss the opportunity to distribute pamphlets creating awareness about female education.
Even when she picks up fight with litterbugs in the area, they don't mind obeying her orders. Inspired by Gandhi, she has also launched a cleanliness drive in her area. Mali had also found a mention in TOI during its I Lead India campaign in October last year.
Her three sons Mohanlal, Deepak and Ashok, along with their wives Sushila, Indu and Sandhya, have also joined their mother in the noble drive.
"Ba has always taken care of me and my daughter Bhavika like her daughters. My parents had a tough time making ends meet and I was married off at a tender age. Though my mother wanted to gift me some gold in the marriage, Ba refused. Once I was in her care, she also ensured that I get private tuition to make up for my studies. Today, I work in a garment factory and earn Rs 5,000, thanks to my darling Ba," 45-year-old Sushila said.
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