Forget Diwali, wounds still fresh in Naroda-Patiya

In Naroda-Patiya, Diwali was just another day. Except for some children bursting the occasional firecracker, there was nothing to indicate t...

In Naroda-Patiya, Diwali was just another day. Except for some children bursting the occasional firecracker, there was nothing to indicate the festival season.

‘‘Every year, the boys of the area, including some Hindus, used to collect money and buy lots of firecrackers. Then, they would all light them together. But this year, in respect for those who died in the riots, people have decided not to celebrate Diwali,’’ said Raziyabanu Mohammad Sheikh, who lost her 22-year-old son in the violence.

‘‘We were a group of 16 boys, all friends since childhood. Of these, seven — three of whom were Hindus — are no more. This year has been bad for all of us, we have been unemployed for over eight months now. We do not have money to refurnish our looted homes. How could we celebrate Diwali?’’ said Ashraf Arif Saiyed, another resident.

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Even the Hindu residents are not celebrating the festival. ‘‘The year has been bad for residents of the area so we are not doing much this year. We just pray for a better new year,’’ said Hansaben Chaudhry.

Ramubhai Chauhan, a resident of Pandit-ni-chali in Naroda-Patiya, added: ‘‘We returned home just last week after staying in a rented house for eight months. We have not even settled down yet so the question of celebrating Diwali in a big way does not arise.’’

His wife, Savitaben, said: ‘‘Every year, we used to clean up the house before Diwali. This year, the mob did that for us. They looted each and every belonging, there is hardly anything to be cleaned.’’

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