New Delhi: As a child, Debasish Bhattacharya had learnt the Kalma because he used to live in a Muslim neighbourhood.

When terrorists struck Pahalgam in Kashmir on Tuesday, Bhattacharya could save himself and his wife and children by reciting the Kalma.

A professor at Assam University in Silchar, Bhattacharya was sightseeing with his wife, son and daughter at Baisaran Valley when the militants arrived.

The professor said he had reached the site of the attack in Pahalgam with his family around 2.10pm on Tuesday, about 20 minutes before they heard gunshots.

His son saw two men getting shot in the area that was swarming with tourists. The family took shelter behind a tree, but soon, they saw masked gunmen approaching them. The militants asked Bhattacharya, his family and other tourists to kneel.

“A masked gunman then went to a man who did not heed their order to kneel. He was shot after they whispered something. Since he was standing close to me, his blood splashed on me. Since others were reciting the Kalma, I also started reciting the same,” Bhattacharya said.

The Kalma, which represents the core of Islamic belief, is a declaration of faith in Allah.The terrorists turned to Bhattacharya and asked him: “Kya bol rahe ho (what are you saying)?”

“I then tried to recite the Kalma loudly. They didn’t ask me to recite the Kalma. They only asked, ‘Ram naam bol rahe ho?’ (Are you calling upon Lord Ram?) I was reciting the Kalma because everyone else was also reciting it.

“I know the Kalma because I grew up in a Muslim neighbourhood. I knew the verses that saved our lives yesterday,” the professor, still in shock, said.

After the gunmen left, Bhattacharya and the family ran towards the nearby forest. Two hours later, they managed to contact some local people who helped them find their way to the main road and travel to Srinagar in the car they had booked.

Aarti, a mother of twin boys, broke down as she recounted the horrifying moment when her father, 68-year-old Ramachandran, was shot dead by a terrorist in Pahalgam, Kashmir.

Speaking to reporters , Aarti recalled the trauma of the killing. The body of her father is lying in a hospital mortuary, awaiting the final rites on Friday.

“A man with a gun appeared and started firing. I told my father and my sons to lie down in a nearby bushy, fenced area. The gunman approached us and said something we couldn’t understand. I asked what he meant, and then he shot my father. I knew he was gone,” she said, breaking into tears.