Ayodhya verdict: Anxiety grips Ahmedabad’s ‘border’ areas

Since the news that the verdict on the disputed shrine at Ayodhya will be given on September 24 was splashed in the media, there has been a feeling of unrest among the denizens of certain localities in the city, which are the junction points of Hindu and Muslim population dominated areas, like Vejalpur, Vasna and Khadia, where both the communities live in close proximity to each other, peacefully most of the time.

However, in the last few days, one has witnessed scenes and overheard whispers that reflect apprehension among the people here, cutting across all economic classes of society.

Here is one observation from the Vejalpur area, considered to be Hindu-dominated, which is neighboring Juhapura — where a large number of Muslims reside. On her way to shop, a woman took a rickshaw from Shrinandnagar. She hardly stepped into the vehicle when her mobile phone rang and she began talking to a friend.

They began to share their anxiety about the coming verdict. “The Muslim houses are barely 200 metres away from here. Since the  Ayodhya issue has cropped up again, I am scared of communal riots breaking out again. What should we do? We are living too close to them.”

The rickshaw driver was listening to the passenger's talk and he spoke to her. He told her that he was a Muslim and when the woman showed anxiety, the driver assured her: “Don't worry madam, I just want to share the same feelings of my community with you. You were saying on the phone that your home is only 200 metres away from the Muslim houses and you live too close to us. But we share the same fear, for the Hindus are also living just 200 metres away from us. We fear that we are living too close to them!”

He continued: “Madam! We are afraid too. But I want to tell you something: Whatever be the verdict of Ayodhya, if the politicians do not want riots, they will not occur. No Muslim or Hindu, whether they belong to the upper, middle or lower middle classes, wants riots.

In fact, Hindus and Muslims are equally scared of the verdict on Ayodhya, for if any unwarranted situation starts, it will bring our daily routine to a grinding halt. And the most important thing for most of us is to earn our daily bread and feed our families.”

Another incident that was overheard in Vastrapur, where a housemaid asked her husband and relatives not to go to the walled city, as they had heard that communal riots will take place there.Other similar incidents can be quoted but the uneasiness in the minds of residents of both the communities living on the edge of 'each other's area' is spreading through such communications and chats.