MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute

dargah is located, has refused to allow Muslims to erect tents during the three-day Urs beginning July 18.
Says chairman LaxmiLal Gujjar: "I met Advani a week ago. He asked us to settle the issue peacefully. But
it's our land, so me government is nobody to interfere. They can celebrate Urs without pitching tents on
our land." (Indian Exp 7.7.02)
10 th July
Muslims fill up camps for yatra (7)
Ahmedabad, July 9: Scared Muslims are taking refuge in the relief camps in fear of violence during the
annual Jagannath Rathyatra, to be held on Friday in Ahmedabad. Refugees are wary of staying in their
homes and feel that relief camps are a better option. Riot victims who had recently shifted to their homes
after prolonged at the relief camps in Ahmedabad have rushed back to the camps to avoid any fresh
onslaught of violence. The 14-km route of the annual rathyatra passes through sensitive Ahmedabad
erupt again. Ms Nurbibi Ganchi, who stayed at Madhav Mill Compound relief camp for over two months
before moving to her reconstructed home at Jhalamuri chali at Saraspur, is back at the camp. Giving
reasons for her move, Ms Ganchi said that she did not want to be targeted again. (Asian Age 10.7.02)
11 th July
Muslims on yatra route have begun to pack their bags (7)
AHMEDABAD.JULYIO : FEARING violence during the Jagannath Rath Yatra on July 12, many Muslim
residents, especially in sensitive areas like Dariapur and Shahpur, have packed their bags and moved to
"safer" areas. The few that have remained are also set to follow suit. At Dariapur's Nagina Pol, locked
homes greet visitors. Shabirabiwi Habib Khan Pathan, who lost the youngest of her four sons in police
firing during the post-Godhra riots, is not taking any chances. "I have been living here with my family for
the last 60 years. Never before did I feel the need to move out during the Rath Yatra. But this year, after
losing my son during the riots, I do not want any other member of my family to meet the same fate. We
don't know what's going to happen but since there are rumours that things may go out of hand, we thought
it best to move out," she said. (Indian Exp 11.7.02)
11th July
Sahgal blames Gujarat Govt for violence (7)
MUMBAl, JULY 10. The Left parties' presidential nominee, Lakshmi Sahgal, said here today that the
atrocities committed in Gujarat were worse than those inflicted by the Japanese in World War II. At a
'Meet the Press' programme, Dr. Sahgal said the Gujarat Government did not call the Army in time, did
not deploy them properly or give them adequate orders and thus aided the violence. She said it was a
different matter whether she won or lost but her candidature demonstrated even to the outside world that
there was a voice in India which was secular and anti-nuclear. The Indian National Army of Subhash Bose
of which she was an officer, had lost on the battlefield but its action brought the country freedom. To a
question, she said the communists had opposed the action of Subhash Bose because they did not have
enough information and were victims of British propaganda. (Hindu 11.7.02)
12th July
Muslims move out of yatra route (7)
Ahmedabad: Niyaz Mohammed Khan, a retired Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation employee, is a worried
man. Apprehensive about the safety of his family, Khan has decided to temporarily shift to a 'safer' place a
day before the Rath Yatra rolls out from Jagannath temple. "My elder daughter is concerned about
everyone's safety and has asked us to come over to her place," says Khan, with memories of post-Godhra
violence still fresh in his mind. Though he quickly adds that nothing of that sort will happen again, he also
does not want to take any chances.
His concerns about the safety of the family and the women-folk were confirmed by Mirza Abdul Kadir, a
cloth merchant in Dariapur area. "We are not sure about our women's safety under these circumstances.
Naroda-Patia and Gulbarg society incidents happened in the presence of police," says Kadir. Around 50
per cent of the families in Nagina Pole, Bukhari Mohalla, Punjabi Hakim-Ki-Gali, Mumbai Chawl,
Dhalgarwad and Chandan Talawadi have shifted to Kalupur, Juhapura and other minority-dominated
areas as a precautionary measure. "We feel our women and children are unsafe when tales of
post-Godhra violence remind us about the role of the police," said Abdul Hamid, a resident of Nagina A