Ghettos: The painful legacy of 2002 Gujarat violence

One of the most obvious victims of the communal violence of 2002 is the divide in social fabric of Gujarat's society, evident for one in polarisation of residential areas on communal lines.

Over the last decade, minority ghettos in Gujarat have swelled to the seams especially in urban areas where Muslims are forced to settle in search of security and employment.

The divide is most distinct in Ahmedabad where it is impossible to find an urban dwelling with mixed communities. Before 2002, ghettos did exist, but there were several incidences of families comfortably living in non-Muslim ghettos. Today, even one such instance would be exemplary.

The population of Juhapura has swelled manifold in the last decade. This ghetto between Vasna and Sarkhej was languidly developing over 30 years. But in the last decade, the area has suddenly become a focal point with Muslims from all over the state gyrating to this totally unplanned huddle.

A conservative estimate puts Juhapura's population at 3 lakh.  Another big ghetto called Bombay Hotel hosted about 500-1,000 houses pre-2002. This number is now estimated to have reached 15-17,000 houses, which translates into a population of about one lakh! Similar is the situation of pockets in Navrangpura, Paldi and the eastern areas.

It may be some consolation that this discrimination is not applicable in case of commercial properties. Office spaces and shops harmoniously coexist. However, the social integration is tepid at best. For instance, the new private clubs developing in western areas are reluctant to accept Muslims as their members. 

"There is no clear stated rule anywhere, so you will find very few Muslims who are members of these clubs, but there is a visible discomfort. This was not there before 2002," says tax consultant VA Isaani.

The veteran is one of the directors of a private club called The Ahmedabad Sports Club located on Sarkhej-Sanand Road, with mainly Muslims as it's over 300 members.

Discrimination to some extent can be seen in schools as well, says Congress leader and developer in the city's central zone JV Momin. He minces no words in stating that the society is totally divided since the 2002 riots and ghettoisation has increased.

"It is very dangerous for Gujarat," he cautions. "Some so called elite schools do not admit Muslim children, unless parents give a major donation or use some influence," he says.

Social activist Hanif Lakdawala says, a HC judge living in Vastrapur was pressurized in 2002 to move out of his home; he now lives in Paldi. "This was the benchmark incident. There are stray incidences of senior Muslim executives of MNCs put up near Vastrapur lake in flats bought by the company, but they have no interaction with the community. Basically there is no integration in the society," he said.

Comparing Gujarat's ghettos with the discrimination in the US on racial lines with Blacks, Momin says any minority community goes into a huddled due to a sense of insecurity.

"There are at least 25-30,000 people who cannot still return to their village homes and farms for work. They are therefore forced to live in such ghettos," he rues.