They couldn146;t even get a moulvi to conduct prayers

For Pandarwada village, two dates took precedence over Id-ul-Fitr on December 6: February 28 and March 1. Over those two days, every house t...

For Pandarwada village, two dates took precedence over Id-ul-Fitr on December 6: February 28 and March 1. Over those two days, every house that had a Muslim owner here was burnt and razed to the ground. Mobs lay in wait for Muslims fleeing to the fields and killed 27 of them.

Of the 100-odd Muslim families who manage to saved their lives, only half have returned with a defiance that comes to people who are no more afraid of death.

So this year, they cried on Id, instead of celebrating. Hussainabibi Ghulambhai, who has acid burns all over her body, felt only pain. She had taken shelter in a house, only to find acid being poured in on her through broken roof tiles. The family of Yusufbhai, who was hacked to death, spent all day mourning for him. And Narun Shaikh shuddered as he remembers how he spent five days in a well. 8216;8216;If I had come out the mob would have killed me,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;I was lucky, I managed to keep my head above water. I got out after five days and went to the hamlet to find no one there. Each and every house had been destroyed.8217;8217;

No maulvi was willing to even visit the village for prayers, so one had to be brought from a distant village under police protection. Until last year, Hindus were an inseparable part of the Id celebration. 8216;8216;Nobody came visiting today. In fact, none of the villagers has come here since we returned in July,8217;8217; says Khaijubhai Ahmedbhai. 8216;8216;The villagers are not ready to take responsibility for our safety, but we have decided to return whatever happens.8217;8217;

It took outsiders more than two days to learn of the massacres. Some of Muslims here had gone to Rajasthan for a wedding and had returned by bus, unaware of the Godhra carnage the day before.

8216;8216;Had we known, we would have fled in the same vehicles,8217;8217; says another villager, remembering how they had pleaded for protection, from leaders of the Hindu community, the sarpanch, the police. 8216;8216;If you want safety, leave the village, we were told,8217;8217; he says. 8216;8216;We risked our lives for one night, but realised it wasn8217;t long before the mobs would return, better armed. So we left. If the locals wanted, they could have saved us.8217;8217;

Sarpanch Anil Modi claims that the Muslims killed a tribal which brought on the massacre. And that the atmosphere is now 8216;8216;normal8217;8217;, and that violence is unlikely. His optimism finds no takers. 8216;8216;We are still afraid to venture out in the open. We hope the atmosphere will improve,8217;8217; says Shaikh, whose brother was killed.

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Muslims say that except for Lunawada MLA Surpalsinh Solanki, no one came to offer them help. But every one of them is ready to vote since the administration has offered them police protection to enable them to reach the polling booths.

The survivors have taken sanctuary in relief camps, some have rented houses in Meghraj, Modasa, Lunavada, and other places. The closure of the relief camp in Lunawada brought some back to Pandarwada. Those who returned have pitched their tents and are supervising the reconstruction of their houses. The houses are expected to be ready in three months, and they hope other survivors will return.