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'Why are we treated as second class citizens?'
TNN, Feb 22, 2011, 12.32am IST
AHMEDABAD: The Muslim community in Gujarat lives in fear, is denied basic amenities and treated as second class citizens - these came out in the personal testimonies of 55 people affected by the 2002 post-Godhra riots. They were participating in a public hearing organised by Anhad, Centre for Social Justice, and several other NGOs working for human rights, in the city on Monday.
In the jury were Justice R A Mehta, former acting chief justice of Gujarat high court; Annie Raja, general secretary of National Federation of Indian Women; social activist Gagan Sethi; and author Githa Hariharan. Syeda Imam Bilgrami, a member of the National Commission for Minorities, was a special observer.
Retired academician and social activist from Vadodara professor J S Bandukwala, who is from Daudi Bohra community, lashed out at Bohra spiritual leader Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin for getting close to Modi. The Syedna and Modi shared the dais on Saturday at a trade exhibition of the community here. "It is unfortunate that many of us are getting close to Modi," Bandukwala said.
There were instances of how Muslim corporators had ignored their community. Rashidaben of Aman Samudaya told the jury how the slums in Bombay Hotel area of Behrampura lived with chemical-laced water. "Badruddin Shaikh who represents this area has done nothing about this basti," she said.
There were cases from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Godhra, Surat, Dahod, Panchmahal and other districts. Latifa Giteli from Godhra, who runs a trust for education, said that her husband who works with BSNL was jailed for 11 months in a fake bombing case and is questioned every time there is trouble in the city. "When the serial blasts happened in Ahmedabad they took him away for three days," she said.
Shabnam Hashmi of Anhad said that at a time when the state was projecting a picture of being progressive and safe, a section of people is battling for its basic rights and fighting communal forces even after nine years of post-Godhra riots.
Bilgrami told TOI later that Muslims felt out of place not just in Gujarat, but elsewhere in the country. "What I tell them is to create strong institutions for academics and special training and give the society role models who can lead the way to progress. I have high hopes from Gujarat," she said. The jury will present the finding to state government officers on Tuesday.
'Why are we treated as second class citizens?' - The Times of India