DOZENS of members from Britain’s Indian community gathered at a Hindu temple in London on Saturday (14) to mourn the victims of last week’s Air India crash in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Many of those attending the vigil at the Siddhashram Hindu temple in Harrow had personal connections to the victims.
Leaders from different faiths — including Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Muslim, Parsi, and Zoroastrian communities — joined hands in prayer, as chants filled the temple hall. A representative of King Charles also attended, reading a message from the monarch and offering Christian prayers for the victims and their families.
Rajrajeshwar Guruji, the head of the Siddhashram temple, said the grief was overwhelming for many families who were still in shock. “They’re just waiting and waiting. Now they are not going to come back again,” he said.
Guruji, who comes from Gujarat where the tragedy occurred, explained how the temple had been supporting families in Britain seeking news of their loved ones.
“Some of the members I have spoken to, they don’t have words. They are in shock,” he added.
Britain is home to one of the largest Indian communities outside India, with around 1.69 million people — 3.1 per cent of the population — identifying as Indian. Many families in Britain were directly affected by the disaster.
Harrow mayor Anjana Patel, who lost a relative in the crash, expressed the community’s deep sorrow. “We believe that everyone who is born has to go one day. But I hope nobody goes the way these passengers and medical students have gone,” she said. Patel added that the local council was providing grief counselling to support those struggling to cope.
Among the mourners was Jyotsna Shukla, 66, whose son’s childhood friend was travelling on the ill-fated flight with his wife and three young children. Fighting back tears, she said, “I feel very bad because he was so young.”
The tragedy also claimed the life of Vijay Rupani, a former chief minister of Gujarat, who had previously visited the same London temple.
The Air India flight, bound for London, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday (12). The Boeing 787-8 aircraft, carrying 242 passengers and crew, lost control moments after departure and plunged into the nearby campus of a medical college in the Meghaninagar area.
Women pray in a vigil at the International Siddhashram Shakti Centre in memory of those who have lost their lives in the Air India crash, in London, Britain. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
The plane burst into flames upon impact, killing nearly everyone on board and 29 others on the ground, including five medical students. Only one passenger survived the crash.
Rescue teams have since been working around the clock to identify the victims. On Sunday (15), officials in Ahmedabad said that 31 victims had been identified so far through DNA testing.
Dr Rajnish Patel, additional civil superintendent and professor of surgery at B J Medical College, explained that many bodies were badly burnt, making DNA tests essential to confirm identities.
“Thirty-one DNA samples have matched till now, and 12 bodies have already been handed over to the respective families,” Dr Patel told reporters.
The victims identified so far came from various districts in Gujarat and Rajasthan, including Udaipur, Vadodara, Kheda, Mehsana, Ahmedabad, and Botad.
Authorities have set up 230 teams to coordinate with the victims' families and help with the difficult process of identification and repatriation of remains.
(Agencies)
Desai (sixth from left) with Jo Johnson, Sajid Javid, Rami Ranger, David Cameron, Lady Kishwar Desai, guest statue sculptor Philip Jackson and Priti Patel
Desai during the Mahatma Gandhi anniversary in Parliament Square on October 2, 2019
Desai with Amartya Sen (right)
Desai with wife Kishwar
Desai said, “Everybody has been nice to me. I have had a lovely life.”