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Porbander - Terror is ticket to success

History books will tell you that Porbander is the birthplace of the apostle of peace, Mahatma Gandhi. Police records will show you that peace is, at best, a mirage shattered by a single gunshot in this port town.

First there was Sharman Munja. Then there was Santokben Jadeja. Now, Bhura Munja is in currency, and getting stronger.

These names may mean nothing to you and me, but are synonymous with terror in Porbander.

The first two names may have lost their capacity to scare the daylights out of you, but oldtimers testify that a call to visit them was considered a final goodbye to life.

Any mention of the third name, however, still stops all conversation. And you are quickly corrected: "It is Bhurabhai, not Bhura."

Bhurabhai has come out of a five-year hibernation and is making waves. The right kind if you listen to his supporters, but the wrong ones if you hear out his rivals and jittery cops.

But who is Bhura Munja? And how does he manage to enjoy, and maintain, such notoriety?

When I reached Kutiyana, around 30 km from Porbander, in search of the dreaded don, I was made comfortable by his supporters, handed a tall, cold glass of chaas and made to listen to the 'exploits' of Bhurabhai.

"He always fights for justice; he is a devta for us; his family has been sorting out our problems for 70 years now; he never lets anyone leave his home without food; he has never refused money to anyone" Once Bharatbhai Vora starts talking about Bhurabhai, it is difficult to stop him.

The clincher, of course, was: "Bhurabhai has the blessings of the local devi in Porbander. No bullet can kill him. Do you know that the police and his rivals have tried to gun him down at least 20 times?"

After about an hour's spiel, I was told that Bhurabhai was at the Porbander airport to receive Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, on whose party's ticket he is fighting the election for the Kutiyana assembly constituency.

He fitted the description in the police records to a T. 5'10, dark complexion, slightly balding, dyed hair, a golden tooth. But what the police records did not mention were the razor sharp eyes, the quick assessment, an easygoing, friendly manner glossing over an inbuilt suspicion of strangers.

In five minutes, he had decided I was harmless.  In ten minutes he had a hand over my shoulder, sharing his life's secrets with me, as though I knew him for ages.

"Yes I killed all those who killed Sharman Munja. He was my brother after all. What would you do if someone killed your brother? Wouldn't your blood boil?" he said loudly and clearly in front of his impassive police bodyguard and a cringing SP of Porbander, who was overseeing the security arrangements for Mulayam.

Rubbing it in, he said, "What can the police do? They are all impotents." The SP looked the other way.

"There is so much police oppression. Sometimes when a policeman visits for passport verification, people come running to me. They are so frightened of the police," he said. "If I am so bad, why should people come running to me? Why should they vote for me and get me elected."

I asked him about his estranged relationship with Santokben, his sister-in-law. "Do you know I was in England till 1995? I had a roaring second-hand car business and a departmental store. I had so much money that I need not have come to India to have my name besmirched.

"I used to sell second-hand cars to those goras for 2000 pounds (laughs heartily). Then my brother was murdered in 1995 and I had to come to India to take revenge. I took revenge and promptly went back. If I were interested in goondagaardi, I would have stayed back.

"I went back to London, but soon I started getting complaints about godmother, who had by that time, with my help,  become an MLA. I had hopes that she would take care of the family name. But she started occupying other people's land. The last straw came when her son raped the daughter of a friend of mine, who was visiting India.

"Do you know what she said when we complained to her?" he asked. "What has my son done that your son-in-law would not do?

"It was then I decided to take her on. I had courage, I had brains, I had land. I knew everything about saam, daam dand, bhedh. So I fought the 1995 election against her.

"When she realised that her position was under threat, she tried to get me killed. The entire police force was under her. While godmother's police bodyguard has a stengun, my bodyguard had a musket rifle. But then, I had my own means of protecting myself.

"Yes, I had guns to protect myself. What is wrong in it? If you knew that someone was trying to kill, you will also take up arms.

"Those people who say I am a don need to look at the 1995 results. I won. The Congress was wiped out; the BJP swept almost all seats, save mine.

"It is my life's mission to make sure that godmother doesn't come back to Porbander."

When reminded that the BJP claims that it wiped out the mafia in the city, particularly Santokben, he says, "But in 1995, when they lost the seat to me, they asked for Santokben's support. And in the local election they gave tickets to all Santokben's men. I knew that together, they might be dangerous. So I hit upon a plan (chuckles). I went to Santokben and acted as if I wanted a compromise. She agreed. When the BJP came to know about it, they were angry. Immediately the government starting slapping TADA cases against her, and I got my revenge."

And what about the five TADA cases against him. "The cases against me were slapped after I wanted to withdraw my group's support [He was heading a group of 16 independent MLAs in the Gujarat assembly] to the Keshubhai Patel government."

When broached the topic of family, he softens a bit and says, “I have a 16-year-old son who is studying in London. When I told him to take care of my business, he said 'Papa, I don't want your tension. You just educate me'."

By then Mulayam had arrived. Holding me by my hand, he insisted I should have lunch with him. Mulayam too did the same, and I was bundled into their car.

At least, the part about not letting anyone go without having food is true, I thought as I tucked into delicious rotlas and chickpeas subzi.

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