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Muslim father and son look at their burnt shop in Prantij, near Ahmedabad
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By
IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, September 19 (IslamOnline) – Gujarat’s Borsad town remained
under curfew for the second day Wednesday, September 18, following
group clashes involving Hindus and Muslims.
One
Muslim, Shiraz Vohra (35), was killed in police firing during the
clashes Tuesday, September 17. The conflict erupted as a Muslim
scooter driver is said to have accidentally hit a Hindu boy on Monday,
September 16.
The
accident triggered a riot as stone-throwing mobs converged on the spot
from two adjoining localities — one with a Hindu majority, the other
with a sizable Muslim population.
Police
claimed mobs were hurling stones at them during Tuesday’s group
clashes, which caused injury to six policemen. To disperse rioters
they burst tear gas shells, followed by firing, which killed Vohra.
Muslims see the usual anti-Muslim police bias in the death of Vohra in
police firing.
The
eruption of violence and simmering tension in Borsad vindicates the
Election Commission of India’s stand that Gujarat is yet to recover
from anti-Muslim hysteria.
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Chief Minister Modi on his “Pride March”: celebrating pogroms |
The
incident dents the state government’s claims of normalcy following a
massive anti-Muslim pogrom that lasted over two months. The carnage,
which was seen by victims and independent observers as having been
state-sponsored, left Muslims and Hindus alienated from each other.
Underlying tension leads to clashes from time to time in various parts
of Gujarat ever since.
Borsad,
which had witnessed sustained anti-Muslim violence during the
March-April pogrom, had been quiet until Monday’s accident.
Police
complicity in the pogrom had destroyed Muslims’ trust in their
impartiality. Vohra’s death in police firing confirms the worst
fears of Muslims about police partiality in civil strife.
The
tension aggravated Tuesday morning when a Hindu was stabbed while
offering prayers in a temple. Further trouble is feared during an idol
procession next Friday, September 20. Police are taking no chances
until then. This means curfew will continue for another couple of
days.
Aftershocks
of the humongous anti-Muslim carnage of March-April are still felt
every now and then. A woman was hurt when a crude bomb went off
Sunday, September 15, in Jamalpur area of state capital Ahmedabad. The
bomb was hidden in a garbage dump.
Twelve
similar bombs were recovered from garbage dumps in other areas of
Ahmedabad.
Chief
Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing anti-Muslim hate campaign all over
the state helps keep the kettle on the boil. With so much hate speech
saturating the air, it is not surprising that the state erupts into
religious violence at the slightest pretext.
