VARODA, INDIA, May 6, 2006: Hindus in violence-hit Vadodara on Saturday criticized a Supreme Courts order putting a stay on the demolition of a Muslim shrine encroaching public place. The demolition was stalled by an order of the Supreme Court yesterday, which nullified an earlier order of a top provincial court. The High Court of Gujarat had asked the civic authorities to carry on with the demolitions. Hindus in the city were peeved at what they said was a one-sided decision of the Supreme Court.
“On what basis has the apex court given the decision? Whenever there is an issue involving Muslims, the court always sides them. So many Hindu temples in the city were demolished for the same reason, but did any Hindu made a fuss about it? Are the Muslims not responsible for the development of the city they live in?” said Govind Chatrade, a protester. “The Supreme Court has given a partial decision. When 20 Hindu temples were demolished for the same cause then why didn’t the court give the same orders? This is injustice,” rued another Hindu, Narendra Soni.
The civic authorities in the communal sensitive city had demolished some Hindu temples also, which obstructed widening of the city roads and had targeted a centuries old Muslim shrine, when trouble broke out. People from the Muslim community clashed with police and civic authorities in Vadodara 120 km (75 miles) south of Ahmedabad, after the demolition of a Sufi shrine as part of a road-widening project earlier this week, which eventually boiled into a communal conflict. Six people were killed and scores of there were injured, including ten police personnel in violence, forcing authorities to clamp prohibitory orders in the town and deploy army to contain the volatile situation. The locals, many of whom have lost crucial business due to the violence, have blamed the rioting on political interests, saying Hindus and Muslims in the city have lived in harmony for ages.