An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members crashed near Meghaninagar shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12. The crash killed over 200 people on board, including 169 Indian nationals and dozens of foreign nationals, leaving a trail of debris, grief, and burning questions.
While aviation experts work to determine the technical reasons behind the crash—suspected to be engine failure and a possible hydraulic malfunction—a deeper, more human story has emerged from the ruins: of service, sacrifice, and silence.
In a similar incident in 1996, a crash involved Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763, which had just taken off from Delhi, and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, which was approaching to land. 349 people were killed, making it the world’s deadliest mid-air collision. A large number of the deceased passengers on the Saudi flight were Haj pilgrims returning home.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Karyakartas were among the first responders at the site, helping to collect body parts, assist authorities, and prepare coffins for the deceased.
And yet, it was not any Muslim religious organisation or Haj committee that rushed to the scene. It was not any Islamic body that collected the blood-soaked remains or prepared the bodies for the final rites. It was the RSS an organisation often vilified, misunderstood, and attacked for ideological reasons—that quietly arrived, took charge of the chaos, and offered dignity to the dead.
Senior journalist Prof (Dr) K G Suresh, who has previously covered the Charkhi Dadri air crash—another tragedy involving Haj pilgrims—reminded the nation of a haunting parallel:
“All the deceased in Charkhi Dadri were Haj pilgrims, and yet it was RSS Karyakartas who collected body parts, arranged coffins, and helped grieving families. The same has happened again. My report was published on the front page of The Times of India. Nothing has changed. No Muslim organisation was present.”
चरखी दादरी में मैंने विमान दुर्घटना कवर किया था। सभी दिवंगत हज यात्री थे लेकिन उनके शरीर के टुकड़ों को एकत्रित करने से लेकर ताबूत तैयार करने तक का काम संघ के स्वयंसेवकों ने किया. मेरी इस पर रिपोर्ट को टाइम्स ऑफ़ इंडिया ने प्रथम पृष्ठ पर लिया था@Zafarirshad @RSSorg @SunilAmbekarM https://t.co/OuCIxCUijm
— Prof (Dr) K G Suresh (@kg_suresh) June 13, 2025
His remarks were echoed by journalist Zafar Irshad, who took to X to ask: “In every accident or disaster, only RSS Karyakartas show up. Where are the Muslim organisations or Christian missions? People from all religions die—but only one community consistently steps up to serve.”
किसी दुर्घटना-आपदा में केवल राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ @RSSorg के कार्यकर्ता ही मदद के लिए आगे आते हैं कोई मुस्लिम संगठन,या ईसाई मिशनरी के लोग क्यों नहीं आते ?मरने वालो में सभी धर्मों के लोग हैं.पत्रकार के रूप में जहाँ दुर्घटना कवर करने गया,हर जगह मुझे संघ कार्यकर्ता सेवा करते मिले pic.twitter.com/HV0BVZTAkf
— Zafar Irshad (@Zafarirshad) June 13, 2025
From the moment the Ahmadabad flight crash was confirmed, 350 swayamsevaks were mobilised in two shifts. These Karyakartas did not ask who the victims were, what faith they followed, or whether their service would be recognised. They simply did what they have done in every national calamity—from earthquakes in Bhuj to floods in Assam.
Their tasks included:
- Navigating twisted metal and charred luggage to retrieve body parts from the wreckage
- Managing the post-mortem unit at Civil Hospital and preparing the dead for proper documentation
- Collecting DNA samples for identification of the mutilated remains
- Donating blood
- Coordinating with the airport and hospital staff to guide relatives and calm distressed families
- Serving food, tea, and water to over 2,000 people through a kitchen operated in collaboration with Kalupur Swaminarayan Mandir
As news broke that most of the passengers were Haj pilgrims, one might have expected prominent Islamic charities, trusts, or minority rights organisations to mobilise emergency services. But no such support appeared on the ground. Neither the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Jamaat-e-Islami, Tablighi Jamaat, nor foreign-funded NGOs affiliated with religious missions turned up to assist at the site or hospital.
This glaring absence has ignited a wider debate about selective activism and the failure of identity-based organisations to rise above politics when true human service is needed most. While the media often questions the intentions of the RSS, swayamsevaks have quietly built a reputation for being the first responders in floods, earthquakes, train derailments, and plane crashes—regardless of religion, caste, or community.
Responding to the tragedy, Sunil Ambekar, Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh of RSS, issued a heartfelt message:
“Today’s plane crash in Gujarat is extremely unfortunate. We express our heartfelt condolences to all the victims of this tragic incident and pray to Bhagwan to give strength to their families to bear this grief. Om Shanti.” His words were not mere rhetoric—they were backed by visible, ground-level work, discipline, and compassion shown by swayamsevaks who worked round-the-clock in Ahmedabad.
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