"I was lucky to have cancelled my class that morning," she told Rediff.com on Friday. That "tragedy brought a shock wave and a sickening feeling in me. It was a horrific moment of panic for those who happened to be there and extremely painful for those who got hurt. The psychological wounds, invisible scars, painful memories, high anxiety, etc. will take a long time to heal."
In an interview published in the Globe and Mail, Gill's mother, Parvinder Sandhu, said her son 'followed his usual routine' the night previous to the tragedy, '...eating a hamburger with his brother and watching a comedy show' and so 'nothing could have warned' her that her son was 'going to pack his Beretta CX-4 carbine into his car the next day and head to Dawson College.'
She described her son 'as a caring and generous young man who loved birds and poetry, and was eager to help his parents with chores around the house.'
While saying all this, Sandhu said she was completely oblivious to her son's favorite website 'vampirefreaks.com' as she's not computer savvy. The site where he was writing things like he would 'turn this world into a graveyard' and 'let there be a river of blood in your wake' and that he would like to die 'in a hail of gunfire'.
"As the flowers and messages continued to mount in front of Dawson College... and many tears were shed and fears were expressed, I kept questioning why innocent young people were the targets of such intense violence," asked Srivastava.
"Why a popular student hangout (cafeteria) became a shooting gallery within minutes? How anyone could have this kind of mindset, become so intensive and inflict the pain in others?"
The tragedy perpetrated by the 23-year-old Indo-Canadian, who, after his shooting rampage, turned the gun on himself, has now once again given rise to debate about gun control in Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants to scrap the 'gun registry' as it didn't prevent mentally unbalanced persons like Gill from legally acquiring the semi-automatic gun and other weapons.
To this Biology teacher at Dawson, strict weapon control "...will probably help but the idea of violence is conceived in the mind, not in the weapon."
So, the question that people should be discussing is, "How the mind can be controlled and made to think positively" and as a teacher, Srivastava suggests, "What kind of education should be imparted" to young people?
"In this crisis-ridden age we see a sharp decline in the propagation and practice of human values of truth, righteousness, peace, love and non-violence."
Srivastava's suggestion is to make "...these values... part of the curriculum from the early childhood. Not just learning but practicing these values is what matters."
According to her, "Unless we spiritualise education, the quality of life will not get better."
She went on to tell this reporter that we have come to pass when people "...feel threatened and scared to go to work (and) yet we must continue with our lives. Even though the body is fragile, the spirit is resilient. Life must go on."
No wonder, organisers of World Religions Congress in Montreal, concluded last week, asked Srivastava (being from Dawson College and with such thoughts in her mind) to read the condolence resolution on behalf of 1,800 religious leaders and academics who participated in the weeklong congress:
"Sadly, we have to face tragic events such as the shooting at Dawson College. Lives have been lost and others so many are left devastated. The Fear is real. However, also real, is our passionate commitment to steadfast prayer and to spirited work with a united humanity, towards a common goal of world peace."
It was stated that the religious leaders and others must "meet to remember that devastating tragedy, to proclaim compassion, to call for healing and to strengthen ourselves for the continual work for peace."
After the condolence message was read out, the delegates observed a minute's silence, followed by prayers.
