Skip to main content

Gujarat youth who cares two hoots for those criticising him for 'supporting' Muslims

Vyom Amin with at a unity rally 
By Mahesh Trivedi* 
Hatemongers have been misusing social media to hurl abuses on communities they dislike. But here is a young, highly-qualified Hindu Good Samaritan who has been silently doing humanitarian work through social media to give a one tight slap on the face of fanatics.
Meet Vyom Amin, a 29-year-old cybernaut and restaurateur from Gujarat capital Gandhinagar. His heart bleeds for the poor and needy, irrespective of their caste or community. Doing a yeoman’s service for the past six years, he last week turned a saviour for three pre-teen Muslim schoolgirls whose father Umar Qureshi had lost his driver’s job during the Covid-induced lockdown and was struggling to make even both ends meet.
On getting wind of Qureshi’s tale of woes and his inability to pay the fees of his three daughters, Amin, as usual, wasted no time in appealing to his generous friends for help through various social media platforms. Within a few hours, Rs 14,000 was collected and handed over to Qureshi much to the chagrin of frenetic Hindu netizens.
Blood disorder patient Fardeen with Amin
Recently, Amin, also a real estate investor whose father is a Class I officer in Gujarat government, learnt that Muskan Shaikh had cleared Class XII with flying colours but her cash-starved parents could fulfil her dream to join a stenography coaching class in Gandhinagar. The young do-gooder swung into action on the social media and, lo and behold, within just one day, his friends as well as other kind-hearted strangers donated Rs 20,000 which was paid as fees for Muskan’s shorthand course.
In yet another case not long ago, Amin also rushed to the rescue of Vadodara’s rickshaw driver Yakub Multani whose 12-year-old son Fardeen was suffering from a serious blood disorder and had to be taken all the way to Ahmedabad now and then for free treatment and medicines. Told of Multani’s helplessness in commuting between the two cities during the lockdown, Amin passed round the hat in the social media and within two hours, Rs 10,000 was deposited in Multani’s bank account.
Amin paid fees of 3 sisters
Even earlier, when Fardeen urgently needed blood, Amin and his friends organised camps for five days in Vadodara and themselves also donated blood, collecting 85 bottles of blood to save the boy’s life.
When his Muslim friend Riaz Khan recently told him that 48-year-old Yasinkhan Khokher was stabbed and looted by thieves in Radhanpur in northern Mehsana district, and was gasping for breath in hospital after the murderous assault, Amin and his friends quickly collected Rs 14,000 and paid the victim’s medical bills.
A soft-spoken, self-effacing Amin, an engineering degree holder with a Masters in Public Administration, said that he was only doing his duty as a human being but more people should come forward for this noble cause and promote communal amity instead of spreading hatred through social media.
Leading communal unity rallies with Hindu and Muslim students, even as working to convince poverty-stricken parents of child labourers to send their children to school, Amin, along with his eager-beaver friends, never misses an opportunity to do his damnedest to help people in distress.
He saw to it that a down-at-heel slumdweller’s 12-year-old daughter with a fractured leg was able to walk again after six months, an old two-wheeler was donated to a brilliant Class XII girl who had lost her father, and a truckload of household goods was delivered to poor villagers in Banaskantha district.
“When some genuine person needs help, we should immediately provide succour without knowing whether the needy person is a Hindu or a Muslim, a Dalit or a Christian,” sums up Amin who cares two hoots for those who criticise him for supporting Muslims.
---
*Senior journalist based in Ahmedabad. A version of this article was first published in Clarion India

Comments

TRENDING

'Very low rung in quality ladder': Critique of ICMR study on 'sudden deaths' post-2021

By Bhaskaran Raman*  Since about mid-2021, a new phenomenon of extreme concern has been observed throughout the world, including India : unexplained sudden deaths of seemingly healthy and active people, especially youngsters. In the recently concluded Navratri garba celebrations, an unprecedented number of young persons succumbed to heart attack deaths. After a long delay, ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) has finally has published a case-control study on sudden deaths among Indians of age 18-45.

SC 'appears to foster' culture of secrecy, does not seek electoral bond details from SBI

By Rosamma Thomas*  In its order of November 2, 2023 on the case of Association for Democratic Reforms vs Union of India contesting constitutional validity of electoral bonds, the Supreme Court directed all political parties to give particulars of the bonds received by them in sealed covers to the Election Commission of India. SC sought that information be updated until September 2023. 

Only 12% of schools RTE compliant: Whither 6% budgetary allocation for education?

By Ambarish Rai* Despite Indian state’s commitment of 6% GDP on education, the Finance Minister completely ignored right to education for children and strengthening implementation of RTE Act which makes education a fundamental right in her budget speech . The Right to Education (RTE) Forum, which is a collective of different stakeholders in education, condemns this neglect of a legal entitlement, which is unconstitutional and demand for overall increase in the budget to ensure improvement in learning outcomes and overall enhancement of quality education.

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Union Health Ministry, FSSAI 'fail to respond' to NHRC directive on packaged food

By Our Representative  The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed deep concern over the adverse health effects caused by packaged foods high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats. Recognizing it as a violation of the Right to Life and Right to Health of Indian citizens, the quasi-judicial body called for a response from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding its selection of front-of-pack labels aimed at providing consumers with information to make healthier choices.

British companies export 'deadly' asbestos to India, other countries from offshore offices

Inside a UK asbestos factory in 1994 before the mineral was banned By Rajiv Shah “The Sunday Times”, which forms part of the powerful British daily, “The Times”, has raised the alarm that though the “deadly” asbestos is banned in Britain, companies registered in United Kingdom, and operating from other countries, “are involved in shipping it to developing nations”, especially India. India, Brazil, Russia and China account for almost 80% of the asbestos consumed globally every year, it adds.