Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Chief Minister Narendra Modi was in Himmatnagar, so was Congress candidate C.K. Patel, the richest aspirant this election. But while they all dropped by in this constituency in Sabarkantha district, made the mandatory poll speeches and moved on, none of them bothered to visit the Hussainabad Resettlement Colony, home to 140 riot-affected families. With the last day of campaigning drawing to a close, the Muslim inmates here have given up the wait.
Bismillaben Bano, who has been living here since the colony for the riot-affected was set up, says, 8220;Nobody has come to talk to us or listen to our problems. So what is the point of voting for anybody?8221;
The over 500 Muslims here belong to Bhilada, Khedbrahma, Idar, Modasa and Vadali regions of the district. Residents complain of lack of drinking water and the absence of street lighting8212;not that any of the political parties cares to listen.
All the residents here have either had their houses looted, land captured or have been driven away from their villages. 8220;We are among the luckier ones; at least we did not lose our family members like many others. But we had to start all over again.8221;
Even five years after the riots, nobody here wants to go back. 8220;We have left our homes behind for ever. After the way we were driven out, most of us do not want to go back,8221; said a man who didn8217;t want to be named.
An old woman standing next to him minces no words. She says, 8220;We were thrown out of our village. And now, no political leader comes even during the elections. We don8217;t count at all.8221;
