Devika Rotawan was 9 years old when the attack took place in Mumbai on November 26, 2008. During these attacks, Devika was shot in the leg. He later identified the lone surviving gunman in court.
15 years after the incident, English Publisher contacted him and tried to find out what changed in his life after the massacre.
I first met Devika Rotawan in 2010 in a Mumbai slum. The frail girl was barely two years old after the violent attacks that rocked India’s economic and entertainment capital.
The 60-hour siege of Mumbai began on 26 November 2008. At least 166 people were killed in attacks on a central railway station, luxury hotels and a Jewish cultural center. Meanwhile, nine armed persons were also killed.
Devika was shot in the leg by Ajmal Kasab at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station a month before her 12th birthday. About 50 people were killed and 100 injured in the firing at the station.
Devika was the youngest witness in the trial and identified Kasab in a packed courtroom. Devika took the oath and answered the questions in a calm manner.
In the media, she was called as ‘the girl who identified the butcher’. (In May 2010, Kasab was sentenced to death, and two years later, hanged in a high-security prison in Pune.)
When I met her in 2010, Devika was a shy girl who walked with a limp, smiled a lot and spoke little.
His brother Jaish was suffering from bone disease and was lying in a corner of his one room house. His father Natur Lal, who sold dry fruits, had gone out for work. His family had limited assets. Plastic chairs, a trunk, a few dishes.
“I want to be a police officer when I grow up,” Devika told me at the time. This week, 13 years after our initial meeting, I met Devika once again.
Devika is now turning 24 and is an intelligent and confident woman. She lives in a new house, a small apartment. Now she talks a lot and her father listens.
Over the years, he has shared his story freely with reporters, TV shows, podcasts and public gatherings. Once again he narrated the story fluently.
She was waiting for a train to Pune at the railway station when she heard gunshots. He saw people dying around him.
A ‘fearless-looking’ young man was carrying a large gun and firing in all directions. She also started running when suddenly a bullet hit her right leg and she became unconscious. After undergoing six surgeries, she returned home after spending 65 days in the hospital.
She first started attending school regularly at the age of 11 and the school initially opposed her admission, saying she would ‘invite danger’ to fellow students.
He identified Kasab in a special court in June 2009. I raised my finger at him. He looked at me and then lowered his head.
Now their past and present are fully explained from 26/11.
Mumbai has moved on but the fear of attacks has cast a long shadow over Devika’s life. On her Instagram and Twitter profiles, she is known by the handle Devika Rotown 26/11.
On Facebook, she describes herself as the ‘youngest victim of the Mumbai terror attack’.
Sad pictures of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan come to light alongside lively reels of his birthday celebrations and dancing on the beach.
Devika addresses gatherings, pays tribute to the victims, and receives not only praise but often financial support for her courage.
The walls of his home are filled with 26/11 memorabilia including framed certificates praising his courage. There are pictures of him meeting UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres when he visited Mumbai last year.
Above the bedroom wardrobe are trophies donated by a fan club and a large teddy. As a survivor of 26/11, she also guested on Amitabh Bachchan’s show Koon Banega Crorepati, an Indian version of the British show Pop Idol.
And then there is the media. Whenever there is a story of tension between India and Pakistan, she turns to Devika for comments, she says.
‘Sometimes, they come to ask for my comments. It gets very awkward at times.’
Devika, who will turn 24 in December, says she still wants to be a female police officer.
But even so, it was hard work to find happiness for his family. Like many others, they are dealing with the challenges of living in a city that is changing rapidly.
After 12 years of living in Chal, where there are cheap houses with one room and a shared bathroom, they were forced to leave the place when construction began.
In this city of two million people, where vertical living is increasingly becoming a necessity, the Rotawan family rented a small apartment six months ago. This is a 270 sq ft one bedroom unit on the 7th floor.
However, Devika says that the monthly rent of Rs 19,000 has increased her financial pressure. Despite his celebrity status, all is not entirely well.
As it was 15 years ago, Devika’s fame is still keeping her family alive. 60-year-old Natur Lal has been jobless ever since his dry fruit business shut down after 26/11.
Jaish, who is 28 years old, recently got a job as an office assistant, starting a few months ago. Devika received a government compensation of a little over 13 lakhs in two installments over eight years.
After finishing school, she contracted TB, which affected her studies.
In a court battle, she is pressuring the government to deliver the house as promised after the attack. A private trust supporting survivors pays their college fees.
In January, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, India’s largest opposition party, invited him to join his five-month, 4,000-kilometer ‘Etihad March’ across India.
She says she joined her father in his home state of Rajasthan. The Congress government of the state gifted him a small plot.
Devika hopes to graduate early next year with a bachelor’s degree in political science and humanities and wants to take the exam to become a female police officer.
She says, “I have also been looking for a job for the past few months, but I have not found a job.” It is disturbing because living in Mumbai is becoming very expensive.
Even 15 years after the tragedy, Devika and her family are getting a little help from friends, well-wishers and clubs.
“We travel by train and plane, where they invite Devika to speak, give certificates and even give money,” says Natur Lal.
“We’ve done hundreds of them. This is how we survive.’
But how long will all this last? How satisfied is she with her identity as the girl who knows the butcher?
“This identity was imposed on me,” she says. I don’t run away from it. I have adopted it.
“I would like to have just one more identity, that of a police officer and keep India safe from terrorists,” she says.
The smile did not leave his face. Dreams die hard.