Tag Archives: Ghulam Dastagir

Ghulam Dastagir, the Unsung Hero of Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Environment Initiatives / Green Heroes (wef. June 10th, 2025), Martyrs of the Nation, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bhopal, MADHYA PRADESH :

FORGOTTEN HERO OF BHOPAL GAS LEAK TRAGEDY: The saviour Ghulam Dastagir, the Deputy Station Superintendent at Bhopal Railway Junction who saved thousands of lives on December 2 and 3 went unrecognised and was buried in the history.

Much has been said and written about the fateful Bhopal Gas Leak Tragedy in 1984 that claimed around 5,479 lives while affecting over six lakh people with serious skin disorders. However, the saviour Ghulam Dastagir, Deputy Station Superintendent at Bhopal Railway Junction, who saved thousands of lives on December 2 and 3,1984 went unrecognised and was buried in history.

Ghulam Dastagir’s case isn’t an isolated one as thousands of Muslim freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Indian freedom struggle were more often than not either concealed or forgotten by the Union Government on one pretext or the other. This scribe flipped through the pages of history to zero in on the world’s deadliest industrial tragedy which sent shockwaves among the people across the globe.

Even after four decades after the Union Carbide Factory gas leak episode, the scars still remain in the hearts of the victim families.  What is irking is the fact that a memorial erected at Bhopal Railway Junction for 23 railway men, who lost their lives while rescuing people, have been inscribed but there is hardly any mention about Ghulam Dastagir who played a pivotal role in the rescue operations on the dreadful day.

Sources from various news portals revealed that a deadly gas leak from the Union Carbide factory engulfed the Bhopal city, killing thousands and injuring many more. Amidst the chaos and panic, one man acted swiftly and bravely to save lives: Gulam Dastagir, Deputy Station Superintendent at Bhopal Railway Junction. Few people know that during the Bhopal gas tragedy, a heroic stationmaster risked his own life to save others. But for him the causalities in the catastrophe would have been much higher.

On the fateful night of December 2, 1984, Ghulam Dastagir found himself in the midst of routine paperwork. Little did he know that this night would forever alter the course of his life. As the Bombay-Gorakhpur Express was due to arrive, Dastagir’s routine took a drastic turn when he sensed something was amiss. His swift action would soon prove to be the difference between life and death for many. Upon stepping out of his office, Dastagir experienced burning eyes and a bitter throat – a tell-tale sign that something was terribly wrong. Shockingly, he discovered the lifeless form of Dhurva, the station superintendent, in his cabin. Acting swiftly, Dastagir communicated with nearby stations to halt incoming trains, potentially saving countless lives. Despite the looming danger, he ordered the immediate departure of the Gorakhpur-bound train, ensuring the safety of its passengers.

As the deadly gas claimed the lives of 23 station staff members, including Dastagir’s own son, he and his team worked tirelessly to manage the crisis. Despite struggling to breathe, Dastagir remained composed, coordinating medical help, and providing a ray of hope in the face of impending doom. The station became a scene of chaos as large crowds desperately sought escape from the poisonous air, and Dastagir’s leadership became a beacon of strength.

While Dastagir’s selfless actions spared countless lives, the tragedy took a heavy toll on him personally. The toxic gas led to health issues, with a lump forming in his throat, and subsequent years were marked by frequent hospital visits. The heavy personal cost included the loss of his son to the gas and another developing a permanent skin infection. Despite the challenges, Dastagir continued to exhibit resilience until his demise in 2003.

At Bhopal Junction, a memorial stands in honour of 23 railway personnel who lost their lives on that tragic night. Unfortunately, Ghulam Dastagir’s name doesn’t grace the memorial, as his demise occurred nearly two decades later. However, during those critical hours in December 1984, Dastagir exemplified the truth in Gerard Way’s famous quote, proving that heroes emerge from ordinary people who rise to extraordinary challenges.

Meanwhile, Netflix’s series, “The Railway Men” made headlines based on the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984. Amidst the widespread acclaim for the show, this review reflects on one of the unsung heroes of that tragic night – the deputy station master of Bhopal railway station, Ghulam Dastagir. His extraordinary actions saved lives and offered a glimmer of hope in the face of an unimaginable disaster.

Shadab Dastagir, youngest son of late Dastagir, while speaking to a media in 2023, said that his father’s heroic role in the entire episode on Bhopal Railway Junction on the night intervening December 2 and 3, 1984, has mainly remained unsung.

“Little official acknowledgment and appreciation came his way in these four decades. And now when an OTT series has been made on the episode, it is upsetting that we were never consulted about the actual happenings,” he told The Week.

“I have watched the teaser and the official trailer and I can make out that the character being portrayed by Kay Kay Menon is based upon my father. But then we are highly apprehensive as to how much close to truth the character has been made,” Shadab, who is into the family business of chemicals and fertilisers, said.

He also mentioned that the family had already sold out the copyright of a script on Dastagir’s life and work – based on narration by his father himself during his lifetime – to a production house called Small Box Media. The Mumbai-based production house was planning a full-length movie based on the script when YRF cut in with the miniseries.

A forgotten hero whose sense of duty and commitment saved countless lives, Dastagir’s story deserves to be recognised and remembered by his fellow countrymen.

[The author is former Indian Express and Deccan Chronicle chief]

source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Focus> Social Service / by M Rafi Ahmed / September 02nd, 2025

When the 1918 Spanish flu reached Bengaluru

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, Science & Technology, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , ,

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

The Spanish Flu’s name comes from the fact that even as wartime censorship in the United States and most of Europe suppressed news of the influenza, the media in neutral Spain reported on it extensively. Photo: Wiki Commons

June 1918. A debilitating disease suddenly swept through Mumbai. Thousands fell ill, complaining of debilitating fever and cough, sometimes with intestinal problems.

For hundreds of unfortunates, their lungs filled with fluids and they died as their body was starved of oxygen. This was the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918-19, which killed an astounding 50 million worldwide. Recent estimates put the death toll in India at a staggering 12 million.

Scientists refer to Spanish influenza as the ‘mother of all influenza pandemics’, since it is the common ancestor of human and swine flu viruses. The disease is inextricably associated with World War I.

The name comes from the fact that even as wartime censorship in the United States and most of Europe suppressed news of the influenza, the media in neutral Spain reported on it extensively, including when their king Alfonso XIII fell ill with it.

Spanish influenza’s first wave reached Mumbai when soldiers returned from Europe, carrying the virus with them. An even more lethal second wave hit in September.

When the pandemic reached Mysore State, it hit it hard. The State had still not shaken off the plague. Wartime shortages had pushed up the prices of food and other essentials. To make matters worse, the monsoon failed that year.

The disease first passed through Bengaluru in late June without causing much harm. The second wave in mid-September was deadlier. Suddenly, entire families fell ill.

Higher fatality

Dispensaries, clinics and hospitals were overcrowded. Doctors, nurses and compounders were completely overwhelmed. Corpses piled up. Unlike COVID-19, Spanish influenza had a far higher fatality among the young and able-bodied than the old.

Offices emptied as people across all professions and classes fell ill, among others, the health officer in Bengaluru and the then Chief Secretary of Mysore State.

In early October, Bengaluru’s City Municipal Council, under the leadership of the President KP Puttanna Chetty, took several quick, creative and effective steps to deal with the health crisis. Temporary dispensaries were opened, some housed in municipal schools that were closed at the time.

Mobile dispensaries were set up to ensure medicines reached everyone. All dispensaries were directed to stay open for longer hours and to stock enough of the medicines required, including thymol, which was prescribed a preventative.

Since hospitals were filled beyond their capacity, temporary tents and sheds were set up to accommodate the sick. Retired medical staff and medical students were brought in to help with the workload. Health officers went around neighbourhoods to see if there were any infected people and to persuade them to move to the hospitals or the camps to prevent the disease from spreading.

Leaflets in Kannada and English were distributed, which explained the symptoms of influenza, how it spread, and how it was important to ‘separate the sick from the healthy,’ and to avoid ‘the entire family congregating in the sick room.’

People were advised to ‘tie a clean handkerchief on which a teaspoon of eucalyptus oil is sprinkled, across the nose and mouth’ when entering the sick room, to provide a certain extent of protection. They were also strongly urged to avoid crowded places.

A striking feature of the response to the influenza pandemic was the voluntary effort in providing relief. Much like today, when several people are working, often with the police and the BBMP, to ensure the poor are not forgotten during the lockdown, in 1918 too, volunteers helped ensure relief supplies reached the poor and families where there was no one left to tend to the sick.

In Bengaluru, the relief operation was coordinated by Chief Officer R Subba Rao. He divided the city into several blocks with a relief party in charge of each. Supplies included medicines, milk and kanji, a lot of which was prepared at a government facility and then distributed by car, carts and even lorries.

Municipal councillors and volunteers who worked ceaselessly included Father Briand, Ramachandra Rao Scindia, Rev D A Rees, B Usman Khan, B Chinnaswami Setty, Ghulam Dastangir, B K Garudachar, R Gopalaswami Iyer and many, many others.

Assisting them were the Social Service League, Young Men’s Christian Association, students of the Wesleyan, London Mission and National High Schools, and many others. Puttanna Chetty toured the city himself to assist the relief works and ensure they went on smoothly.

By the end of November, the disease was finally under control. More than 1,95,000 people died in Mysore State, 40,000 in Bengaluru alone. With the compounding problems of agrarian distress, rural areas were affected much worse.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Spectrum> Spectrum Top Stories / by Meera Iyer / April 08th, 2020