In a harrowing tale of survival, an Assam University professor narrowly escaped death during a sudden gunfire attack while vacationing in Kashmir’s scenic Baisaran near Pahalgam. Debasish Bhattacharyya, head of the Bengali Department at Assam University in Silchar, said he survived the ordeal by instinctively chanting the Islamic verse “la ilaha illallah” — a declaration of faith in Islam — in the heat of the moment.
Bhattacharyya was visiting Kashmir with his wife and son when the idyllic landscape turned into a battlefield. Recalling the traumatic incident, he said, “We were admiring the natural beauty of Baisaran when the gunshots began without warning. In a panic, I dropped to the ground under a tree, trying to protect myself.”
What followed was a chilling sequence of events. The professor said he heard nearby individuals repeating the Islamic verse “la ilaha illallah”, and decided to chant it himself. “One person nearby hesitated to take cover and was shot — his blood splattered on me. When an armed man approached and asked what I was murmuring, I chanted the verse loudly. He moved on without harming me.”
With danger still looming, Bhattacharyya and others, including a child, fled through the mountainous terrain. “We climbed over a fence and followed horse hoof prints for nearly two hours. Eventually, we reached a village where a local woman guided us back to Pahalgam,” he said.
During the terrifying episode, Bhattacharyya said he saw three attackers and heard at least 15 gunshots. Even while fleeing, the sound of firing continued for almost half an hour from the hillside.
