By Nikhat, TwoCircles.net,
27-28 February 2002 is seen by many of the believers of Secularism as an epoch in the hate history of the world and as a blow on the secular values and ethos. But there are many who celebrate it as a victory. But today after seven years of the Gujarat Experiment the question of identity and citizenship for Muslims of Gujarat remains as it is. An obvious question rises in my mind and in the mind of many others including Indians and foreigners, Muslims and Hindus, Christians and Parsis and men and women: Has the condition of Muslims in Gujarat and communal climate of the state improved after seven years of Gujarat genocide 2002?
The answer to this question is obviously a big NO. To strengthen the argument one needs to look into the trends of discrimination and alienation of Muslims in Gujarat. Here, it is worth quoting Mr. Yusuf Shaikh, the Convener of Antrik Visthapit Hit Rakhsak Samiti (AVHRS) which describes very aptly the condition of Muslims in Gujarat: “Kis tarah se sudhari hai? Sudhar ka to koi sawal nahi hai. Kuch nai chizen aisi hui hain jis se Musalmano ki halat aur bhi bigad gai hai. abhi nai-nai tarike se Musalmano ko dabaya ja raha hai. Waqf ki zaminon par kabza kar ke, madarson pe kabze ki ghatnae bina rok tok badh rahi hain” (How it has improved? There is no question of improvement, some new things have happened, which has further degraded the condition of Muslims. Now, new strategies are being used to suppress Muslims. Now the incidents of encroachment on the land of Muslim waqf, madrasas are increasing unchecked)
It is just becoming an unchecked phenomenon, where in the name of development Muslim schools are being demolished, waqf lands are acquired, madarasas are encroached. All this is happening with the explicit support of the Government.
In Dabhoi Taluka of Baroda district, an ancestral graveyard of Muslims has been encroached upon by the Hindus of the vicinity and it is now used as caring and rearing ground for cattle. Several complaints have been made to local authorities but no one paid any heed to the call. Similarly, in Tilakwada village of Narmada, the village Panchayat has encroached a waqf land and made some illegal structure over it. When questioned by Muslims of the village, they were threatened of life and expulsion from the village.
Another case is of Teen Talab village of Dhaboi taluka in Baroda. Here the land of an old madrasa and the village mosque became the reason of discrimination and alienation. Both the mosque and the madrasa were built on waqf land and were in a dilapidated state. So, seeing the bad condition of both the religious structures, the Muslims of the village decided to repair them and for which they have got the permission from the Village Panchayat. For the same intent, the old madrasa building was razed and construction of new building was started with the community’s contribution. But the Panchayat withdrew their permission under the pressure of local BJP/RSS leaders. 25-30 BJP workers assembled there and forced Muslims to stop construction and on the same evening the newly built madrasa was bulldozed illegally by Police Inspector Patel. The Muslims of village went up to the IG to complain about the illegal conduct of the Police but nothing resulted out of it.
In August 2008, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation decided to demolish the boundary walls and some portion of the two medieval age mosques, namely, Rani Sipri and Siraji Saiyed Masjid in pursuance of its road expansion plans. It was only after the stay of the Gujarat High Court the very old mediaeval mosques could be preserved. The Mazar of Wali Gujarat was razed during riots but here it is a blatant misuse of office and power to wipe Muslim heritage from the map of human history.
In a similar step taken by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, a school catering to the educational needs of Muslim children of Naroda Patia was demolished as the local body says the school is in the way of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project.
Similarly, a Municipal Primary School is on the verge of demolition and closure by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for the proposed construction of a Bus Depot for Bus Rapid Transit System. The school is located on the Delhi-Mumbai High Way No. 8 (Narol Road, behind Chandroda Talab near Old Toll Naka), around 1 km away from the Bombay Hotel, where the riot affected people of Naroda Patia have been rehabilitated. The school has nearly 2000 students and all of the students are from the families displaced during Gujarat carnage 2002. It has also class rooms made under Sarva Shiksha Abhian. It is important to note that adjacent to the school there is a huge vacant land, which could have been acquired for the same purpose, but the AMC was only interested in the school. Several representations were also made to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to change their plan. Initially, the AMC Commissioner promised the school board of trustees that the school will not be demolished. But the AMC was adamant to demolish the school, so they have passed a fresh order to immediately seal and demolish the school.
These are only illustrative of what the Muslims of Gujarat are facing in their day to day life. These examples are enough to tell as to what extent the life, identity, citizenship, culture, symbols, and heritage of Muslims or associated with Muslims are under threat by a multi-headed demon which is difficult to identify and defeat.