The Present Tense

In 2002,the nation shuddered as communal riots broke out in Gujarat. Today,10 years later,fear still lives in the state,says Dipankar Gupta,a retired professor of Social Science at Jawarharlal Nehru University,New Delhi,who will deliver a talk in the city on ‘Justice before Reconciliation: Ahmedabad after ten years’. “Even after a decade of the chilling riots in Gujarat,the minority community lives in fear,anguish and apprehensions,” says Gupta who did a detailed study of Ahmedabad after the riots tore apart the city. “The minority community is haunted by those fateful days even now. The people are still traumatised by the past,” he adds. Gupta recently released his book ‘Justice Before Reconciliation: Towards a New Normal in Post-Riot Mumbai and Ahmedabad’. In Pune,his talk will be held on March 13 at Moolgaonkar Hall,ICC Towers,S B Road,at 5.30 pm.

In his frequent stays in Ahmedabad,Gupta interacted with the community that has been making efforts to come to terms with their lives. He remembers how a man was taken aback when he heard the burst of a bicycle tyre. “Their level of fear is so high that they even hide their minority identity. Riot victims do not even want to return to their homes. They feel safe putting up at the makeshift camps after being victims,” reveals Gupta who was awarded the Chevalier De L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Government in 2010.

In his book,Gupta explains the difference between ‘citizens’ and ‘people’ of the country. “’People’ is a majority category. They feel they are the rightful inhabitants of the country. The minorities depend on the Indian law to give them recognition,” he says. Gupta came across an area named Citizen’s Nagar with poverty stricken Muslims as residents in Ahmedabad. “They do not know how to spell the word ‘citizen’ but to claim their right over the land they have named it so,” he explains.

He has observed a strong desire among the people to make their future generation indistinguishable from the others living in Gujarat. “In an effort to bring the next generation into the mainstream,the community is making the children learn Gujarati,sending them to several international schools etc,” he says.