Gujarat lesson plays out in a school, college

As the parents and teachers will tell you, it’s ‘‘safer’’. The Narendra Modi Government is proud of its recent ‘‘record’’ in Gujarat: as the chief minister has proclaimed to his political bosses in New Delhi, violence is no more a byword; the casualties have dipped, rehabilitation is nearly complete. But beneath the veneer of calm, the lines of hate and divide are only getting thicker, the mistrust greater.

Before February 28, Don Boscos English Medium School in Vejalpur had many Muslim students from Juhapura.

Now, at least 200 Juhapura students are queuing up, their leaving certificates in hand. “More than 200 students have decided to switch to schools in Juhapura itself for reasons of security,’’ said a staff member at the school.
‘‘The school is in a small lane and surrounded by Hindu. We know it’s safe in normal circumstances, but what happens to our children if violence suddenly breaks out,’’ asks Khalid Sheikh, who pulled out his daughter. Sheikh, an autorickshaw driver, adds that the 23 Juhapura students he used to drop off at the school every day have also dropped out.

V J Moriya, retired additional collector and a Juhapura resident, has also withdrawn his grandson Maruf Momin, who was admitted here only last year, from the school.

‘‘It is better for him to study in a school that’s closer home,’’ says Moriya.

Moin Abdul and Nawab Awadia, friends who went together to get their children admitted four years ago, went back recently—to get their school leaving certificates. ‘‘We care about the future of our children. But nothing is more important to us than their lives,’’ they say.

Twelve kms away, in Jamalpur, Hindu students have decided to stay away from F D Arts and Commerce College. The college, run by F D Education Society, used to get around 50-odd Hindu girls in the First Year Arts and Commerce division every year. But in the three days since admissions began, only one Hindu girl has picked up an admission form.

Principal S K Mansuri is still holding out. ‘‘Ever since it was set up, the college has had around 50 Hindu girls. But after the riots, they’re not coming forward for admissions. I’m still hoping that some students from Behrampura and nearby areas will come here.’’

About the 100-odd Hindu students already at the college, Mansuri said no student has approached him for a no-objection certificate (NOC) which is necessary to get admission into another college. But a staff member, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Indian Express that the first year results were yet to be announced, and there was a possibility that some students might come asking for a NOC, moving out of Jamalpur and into ‘‘safer’’ terrain.