Source

AHMEDABAD, INDIA, July 21, 2003: After last year’s communal killings in Gujarat, huge gates came up around Hindu- and Muslim-dominated areas of Ahmedabad to keep mobs from each other’s communities at bay. Fear among the Hindus and Muslims led to iron gates being erected in as many as 13 places.



However, on Sunday, the 20-feet high iron gates in Sayed Wadi and Isanpur areas of Vatva were thrown open, and residents from the two neighbourhoods went over to the other side, greeting each other with warm hugs. The occasion was a meeting organised by Sarva Dharma Quami Ekta Sadbhavana Samiti, a newly constituted conglomerate of voluntary groups devoted to communal harmony.



Observing that the iron barriers had only served to widen the gulf and deepen the mistrust between people of different faiths, members of the Sarva Dharma Quami Ekta Sadbhavana Samiti took the initiative to call the meeting to open the gates, thus rebuilding trust between Hindus and Muslims who had been living together for centuries. The eventual goal of the group is to restore peace and harmony to other communally sensitive neighborhoods of Ahmedabad.

Post Views: 650