'A Muslim could not have done this thing’

Malegaon was quiet but tense on Saturday. Reactions were cautious, but public anger was evident. Vaishali Balajiwale spoke to residents to gauge the mood of a city trying to come to terms with terror.

Fault lines

The crux of the problem isn't communal, it is economic. "The riots in Malegaon, right from 1963, never occurred on their own. They used to be instigated by the business community. Malegaon, with a 7 lakh population, survives on the power-loom industry. The owners and the workers are Muslims while the loom suppliers and the buyers are the Hindus. This creates tension," said Subhash Pardeshi, a social worker. 

Dr Kapadnis, an orthopedic surgeon in the city, cites migration of the educated youth from Malegaon as the reason for the rupture of the social fabric of the city. "There is nothing in Malegaon that will retain its educated youth. Industry should be encouraged. Political will is completely lacking."

Anger, revolt

Rafiq Qureshi was the sole sane voice in the crowd that had gathered at the Mushawart chowk, one of the blast sites, on Saturday afternoon. "We do not know who has done this. Of late, Malegaon has been peaceful. This is another attempt to disrupt the peace in this city," he said.

Salman, in his 20s, was more aggressive. "This was a planned incident. This has happened because we are Muslims. When such incidents happen anywhere else, fingers are pointed at Muslims. Now, who will point fingers at whom? There is no chance that a Muslim could have done this to his own people."

Yusuf, who had taken several wounded to hospitals on Friday, said: "This looks like a revenge on the Muslim community. The incident has definitely aroused the sentiments of the community. Now it is up to the police to find the culprit and punish them."

Salim isn't so forgiving. "The police should arrest the culprits and hand them over to the public in Malegaon. We will take proper care of them!"

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