Running with riots

After hours of research and getting in touch with contacts across town, the road led to Vanmadi Vankani Ni Pol, Shahpur where Hindus reside...

It began as an exercise: looking for the divide in deeply divided Ahmedabad. Not figuratively, not metaphorically but literally. Two days after Sabarmati Express was set on fire, everyone realised that as of now your religion would decide where you live. Hindus and Muslims huddled away in their own spaces8212;the minority in their ghettoes, the majority in other safe areas. But what I was looking for was tangible proof8212;etched in cement, bricks and mortar.

I thought I had hit paydirt when I received a call from a friend in Gomtipur. He said his residential colony was living proof of the hatred and distrust among the two communities, that here existed a barrier that had been erected over time, one that was visible. But it turned out to be a blind alley.

After hours of research and getting in touch with contacts across town, the road led to Vanmadi Vankani Ni Pol, Shahpur where Hindus reside. Just across live the Muslims in Jilaiwada. And between the two sprawling residential areas stands The Wall. Usually, building material is used to build homes; here it had been used to divide them.

The wall was mute but the divide was there for all to see. Here was proof of how the two communities had barricaded themselves off from each other. One side called Pakistan, the other Hindustan. And when senior photographer Prashant Panjiar reached for his camera while we were on the 8216;8216;Hindu8217;8217; side, a volley of protests shot up. 8216;8216;You can talk to us, you can8217;t shoot here,8217;8217; they said. A while later, we saw stones being hurled from the other side. An angry youth here brought out a rapier-sharp sword. Clearly, the wall was needed.

We were suspicious characters. I, with a notepad in hand, and Prashant with four cameras and lenses hanging over his shoulder. They were very reluctant to talk to us. Some thought we were IB officers! Others doublechecked our identity cards to make sure we were not from the 8216;other8217; community. It took us three days to make them talk and get the feel of what it means to live within The Wall.

A day later, a Hindu youth lost his life here in the riots. The youth8217;s brief battle to cling to life can never be erased from our memory as we rushed him to hospital in our car. By the time we reached office, his body was on its way home. Sentiments ran high on both sides, and the barricade seemed to have grown higher. Over the months, I forgot the incident. A year later, that tinge of sadness returned on March 1. Celebrations of India8217;s win over Pakistan turned violent and a young Muslim youth died in police firing.

Story continues below this ad

Fallout: The Wall Remains

A year after the riots, Hindus are leaving Vanmadi Vanka Ni Pol and moving to new parts of Ahmedabad selling their homes for several decades cheaply and Muslims are buying up those houses. Time, it appears, is only cementing the divide.