<b>Politics made dargah removal point of prestige</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Little else is known about the shrine, except that it has been attacked in all communal riots in Gujarat since 1969.
But Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), which is controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), seemed to have been intent on removing it - and on Monday itself - to prove a point.
All along the BJP and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had been building up pressure to have it demolished, if only to show that the ongoing demolition drive against illegal structures was not targeting only Hindu shrines.
The local Muslims leadersâ decision to oppose the demolition on the ground that it was a âhistorical structureâ â Muslims do generally not consider dargahs places of worship â only seemed to have increased the political pressure.
...........
Municipal commissioner Rohit Pathakâs statement on Monday evening mentioned the<b> demolition of 20 Hindu temples with peopleâs co-operation. What it did not mention was that the Muslim community, too, had co-operated during the removal of a smaller dargah in the Danteshwar area</b>.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
One more killed in Vadodara violence
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->VADODARA: One person was killed in police firing and two injured in
clashes in the city early on Tuesday morning, taking the death toll in
the violence to five, police said.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Vadodara violence </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Wages of vote-bank politics ---- Monday's violence in Vadodara over the demolition of a Sufi dargah deserves more than passing attention. The fact that it left four persons dead and 21 injured is certainly one reason for this. More important, however, is the question whether there should have been any violence at all. <b>The dargah, which was that of a Sufi Saint Rashiuddin Chishti, had to be demolished for an important road-widening project. Notice, according to Mr RK Pathak, Commissioner of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, had been given to the trustees for its removal but no response was received. According to the Mayor, Mr Sunil Solanki, three meetings had been held with representatives of the minority community to persuade them to shift the dargah and land had been offered. There would have been no violence and police firing had the offer been accepted. The question arises whether there could be any justification for the refusal to shift the structure. The demolition was a part of a general drive to widen roads, which, as Mr Solanki said, had been going on for a fortnight and had claimed as many as 1,500 structures. According to Mr Pathak, 20 temples had also been demolished with the cooperation of the Hindus</b>. All this raises two questions. Why should the Muslims have demurred, particularly since they do not generally consider dargahs as places of religious worship, and when Hindus had cooperated with the removal or shifting of temples? Can there be any progress if opposition by a religious or other group to the demolition of a shrine or religious structure can hold up vital infrastructure development projects? And if one community can scuttle the demolition of its shrines even to make way for vital projects, will others not be tempted to do the same?
All this in turn raises the issue of minority appeasement, the principal instrument of vote-bank politics, which the Congress and the Leftist parties have been pursuing relentlessly. <b>The UPA Government's extraordinary response to Monday's violence, is revealing. Mr Sri Prakash Jaiswal, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, who rushed to Vadodara on Tuesday, made the breathtaking statement that the administration should have considered the feelings and sentiments of the minority community before demolishing the dargah. He completely overlooked the fact that it was the minority community, which had communalised a simple act of demolition to make way for development. That its response was communal is clear from the fact that it attacked not only the VMC staff carrying out the demolition and the police protecting them, but also Hindus, stabbing two of the latter to death and injuring several more.</b> Remarkably, Mr Jaiswal said nothing about this. Nor did he condemn the anti-demolition mob violence, which injured several municipal employees and policemen. If anything, his observation, as well as the Union Ministry's gratuitous advisory on Monday to the Gujarat Government about the need to prevent violence from spreading, is bound to encourage Muslims to be more obdurate on such issues, which in turn is bound to produce a Hindu backlash which is liable to affect Muslims adversely. But then concern for the well being of Muslims has hardly been a part of vote-bank politics.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Mr Sri Prakash Jaiswal, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, who rushed to Vadodara on Tuesday, made the breathtaking statement that the administration should have considered the feelings and sentiments of the minority community before demolishing the dargah<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Mudy, This is a temple being destoryed in Tamil Naidu about a year go.
So the lesson is that if one doesn't go about doing thod-phod, the "feelings and sentiments of the community" are taken for granted.
05-03-2006, 06:12 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-03-2006, 06:13 AM by Bharatvarsh.)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Vadodara: Crowd burns man alive
Sheela Bhatt in Vadodara | May 03, 2006 01:53 IST
Last Updated: May 03, 2006 03:16 IST
A 32-year-old man was burnt alive by a crowd of 1500 in Vadodara early on Wednesday morning.
According to eyewitnesses, the victim was chased by a crowd and burnt alive when he was passing through Ajwa Road's Mahavir hall crossing.
The man was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced 'dead on arrival'.
Sources report that crowds have been gathering across the city through the night. The fact that Vadodara is rife with rumours makes the work of the police very difficult in such tense times.
Vadodara is rife with rumours making the work of the police difficult. The city has been tense since the demolition of a dargah and the death of two person in consequent violence.
Sources report that crowds have been assembling across the city through Tuesday night.
Clashes also reportedly broke out between the two communities at Kotiadnagar, Bawamanpura, Sardar estate under the Panigate police station late Tuesday night.
Earlier in the day, curfew was relaxed for a couple of hours in the Panigate area from 12.30 to 2.30 pm and the authorities had decided to give 9-hour curfew relaxation in the area from 8 am to 5 pm tomorrow following improvement in the situation.
With the killing of one more person, the death toll in the last two days of continued violence and police firing had risen to six. About 20 victims of the riots were still admitted to the SSG hospital.
http://ia.rediff.com/news/2006/may/03guj.htm?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Funny how we don't hear of any riots between Hindus and Muslims in Pakistan even when legal Hindu temples are demolished but in the secular republic of India, even demolishing an illegal dargah can piss off the master race (aka Muslims).
<b>Vadodara violence: Army deployed</b>
How fast they had deployed Army? Any small thing in BJP ruled stated UPA just go overboard. They just use any opportunity to harass Modi.
<b>Strict action to be taken against rioters: Modi</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->"Some people with vested interests are unhappy with the manner in which the state was progressing and maintaining peace," Modi said.
Law enforcement agencies would take necessary steps to restore peace and normality at the earliest, he said in a statement.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Advani asks Modi for report on Vadodara</b>
<b>Vadodara violence: Army deployed</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Chief Minister said the police have been asked to deal with the situation sternly. "No one, responsible for these heinous crimes, will be spared and will be severely punished," Modi said.
"Any one feeling victimised by violence should go to the court rather than taking law into one's own hands," he added
.............
He also visited the Sir Sayaji Gaekwad Hospital where police personnel, who had sustained injuries in the clashes, are recuperating and sympathised with them.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Vadodara violence: Army deployed<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
They didn't deploy the army when Hindus were being butchered in Mau by Ansari and his Muslim cronies, they didn't deploy the army when Hindus got butchered in Lucknow during the anti Bush protests, they didn't send in the army during the Aligarh riots but suddenly send in the army when a riot happens in Gujarat, are we to assume then that Hindu lives have no value for the gov't of India?
<!--QuoteBegin-Bharatvarsh+May 4 2006, 08:52 AM-->QUOTE(Bharatvarsh @ May 4 2006, 08:52 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Vadodara violence: Army deployed<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
They didn't deploy the army when Hindus were being butchered in Mau by Ansari and his Muslim cronies, they didn't deploy the army when Hindus got butchered in Lucknow during the anti Bush protests, they didn't send in the army during the Aligarh riots but suddenly send in the army when a riot happens in Gujarat, are we to assume then that Hindu lives have no value for the gov't of India?
[right][snapback]50657[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Mode made a request for the Army
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Mode made a request for the Army <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Thanks for the clarfication, atleast that's good or else we will have another international campaign against Hindu "Nazis" out to kill Muslims
Just look at how the media mostly ignored the killing of Biren Shah in Vadodra riots but has been feeding us about the burning to death of some Muslim, how come when a Muslim gets killed he gets national coverage but a Hindus death is like that of a vermins.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Wednesday, May 3, 2006 (Vadodara, godhra, riots):
Tuesday night's violence in Vadodara has revived memories of the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
Eyewitness accounts of organised mob violence and police indifference to desperate calls for help are chillingly familiar in the state.
The family of Rafiq Vohra, who was burnt alive in his car, is inconsolable.
"He was like my brother. We kept calling the police but there was no response. They kept saying 'we're on our way' but never came," said a relative of Rafiq.
They cannot come to terms with the way their lives have been shattered by the senseless act.
Senseless act
Rafiq, an employee of Gujarat Refineries, was returning home when his car was set on fire by a mob.
"My elder brother was at the refinery since afternoon. When he was coming home at night, they saw his car and recognised that it is from this society. They did not let him go," said Munna Vohra, Rafiq's brother.
Forty-eight-year old Yasin Vohra runs an STD shop in the Bihad complex located 300 metres from where the mob stoned and burnt shops.
He made a first SOS call to the control room at 11.48 pm, and a second call was made at 12.08 am.
Residents of the Vohra and Kismet colonies, which are predominantly Muslim colonies in the area, say they made close to 200 SOS calls between 11.30 pm and 12.30 pm, but the police did not respond to their pleas for help.
"They attacked our colony and then Rafiq's car was attacked. If the police had arrived on time the incident could have been averted. I called repeatedly when the mob started stoning our shops but the police turned a deaf ear," said Yasin Vohra, one of the eyewitnesses.
But the police claim there was no delay in arriving.
"If they say we reached late, that is totally baseless. We would have been 5-10 minutes late. I was there and the DCP was also there," said VM Parghi, ACP.
Loss of life
Rafiq will be missed most by his wife and two small children, a son and a daughter.
On Wednesday, terrified neighbours gathered to say their final goodbye and try and make sense of what happened in a city hit by violence.
"Whether the dargah broke or not, what is the use? What is the benefit? I have lost my brother," said Siraj Vohra, elder brother of the victim.
Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has said that the Centre has asked the Gujarat government to take necessary action to control the situation.
Communal history
Just a few kilometres away, another family has been crying for two days, struggling to understand why a son and brother had to lose his life over nothing.
Biren Shah, who was killed by rioters on Monday, was the only earning member looking after his two sisters and mother.
But the scenes of sorrow didn't stop those on streets. Many broke curfew in the Panighat area and two dye factories were set on fire at the Sardar industrial area.
Fortunately, the situation was quickly brought under control on Wednesday.
The question now is, will the fragile calm continue and how long will it last for a state that has had a volatile communal history, and where the smallest incident can ruin lives.
http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?...=87521&callid=1<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It means that this happened on May 1st but did we see any reports on this?
05-04-2006, 05:24 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-04-2006, 09:10 PM by Bharatvarsh.)
Here is another Hindu that got murdered by Muslims in Vadodra on May 2.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Trying to secure admission for his daughters, Armyman was stabbed
Express News Service
Vadodara, May 2, 2006:
Little did Subedar Ramchandra Meena (35), belonging to the Patiala unit of the EME core, know that a detour would cost him his life. Meena was stabbed to death by unknown attackers on Monday afternoon while he was going to secure school admission for his daughter, following his recent transfer to Bhusaval.
Meena was on training at the EME school in Vadodara till April 29. Before his transfer, he was trying to secure admission for his three daughters to the Kendriya Vidyalaya school. On Monday, while the demolition of the dargah on the Fatehpura-Champaner road was in progress, he and his nephew were trying to reach the school in Harni when they were confronted by a police blockade.
ââWe asked around for a shortcut to Harni and entered Yakutpura area. First, our motorcycle was stoned at from neighbouring buildings and then about a dozen men gheraoed us. They started beating my uncle and confined me inside Minara Masjid. I was rescued by some women from the neighbourhood. When I reached my uncle he was bleeding profusely and I took him to a nearby hospital on my motorcycle,ââ recalled a college-going Manoj Meena.
The incident occurred around 12.45 pm. At the Swami Premdass Hospital, doctors informed Manoj that his uncle was no more. Later, a post-mortem report confirmed that Meena died of stab wounds on his back and his stomach. ââHe was breathing and managed to sit on the motorbike immediately after the stabbing,ââ said Manoj.
On Tuesday, EME personnel accompanied by Meenaâs widow, daughters and his brother-in-law, took custody of Meenaâs body from the SSG Hospital cold room. ââWe are taking the body for cremation at our native village in Bhilwada, Rajasthan,ââ said his brother-in law, Bhanwarlal Meena.
Like Meena, Biren Shah (23), who was also killed in Mondayâs violence, had attempted to take a shortcut to his Mandvi residence via Lal Akhara, while coming back from his newly-opened Waghodia Road shop. ââHe was attacked with a chopper on his neck and shoulder. His body was mutilated and left on the street,ââ said his brother Devang Shah. Biren was cremated on Monday night. A police complaint was registered with the City police following the incident. Shahâs family members were asked to give a written representation before a five-member committee from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) who are to visit the families of those killed during the riots on Wednesday. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
See how the fact that more Hindus died in the rioting (if you discount the police shooting on the first day) is being covered up by the media.
Look at "Express India" homepage, it says:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->'Mob came, but cops never did'
It's Gujarat 2006 versus Gujarat 2002
Muslims cant 'trust' state govt
http://www.expressindia.com/<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Did it say:
"Hindus can't trust Kashmir gov't" after the massacre of 35 of our brothers and sisters, did it recount all these sob stories, nooo, that would be communal while we are secular.
And look at what this dhimmi minister says:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->'Dargah demolition could've been avoided'
New Delhi, May 4: The Vadodara administration could have avoided demolition of a dargah in view of the people's sentiments associated with the old shrine, Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal is understood to have stated in a report to the government.
have also said in his report that while a district administration has the right to launch drives to demolish illegal structures, decisions to raze religious places, which were centuries old, should be taken after due deliberations keeping in mind the sentiments of the people.
The subsequent firing by police to contain the mob violence following the demolition could also have been avoided, the minister is understood to have said.
http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=67125<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
So you see guys, if you get violent then people will start respecting your sentiments, however ridiculous these sentiments may be.
05-06-2006, 08:21 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-06-2006, 08:23 AM by Bharatvarsh.)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Army sent to Panigate after clashes
UNI
Saturday, May 06, 2006Â 04:05 IST
VADODARA: The army was sent to curfew-bound Panigate after violence broke out between two communities near the Ajawadi Mills late on Friday night.
Police said mobs belonging to the two communities indulged in stone pelting, violating curfew that was reimposed in the area from 5.30 pm, after a three-hour curfew relaxation for women and children.
 Â
Police resorted to lathicharge and lobbed three teargas shells to disperse the mob. No one was reported injured in the incident.
 Â
Jawans patrolling in the neighbouring area immediately went to the troubled spot and conducted a flag march.
It was the first incident of violence in 48 hours of the army deployment in the city.
 Â
Earlier in the day, a place of worship was attacked and damaged by miscreants, leading to tension in Akota, which is out of the purview of the curfew.
Considering the improved law and order situation, the authorities in the evening had decided to withdraw the army from Raopura and Karelibaug and continue to keep them in four other curfew-bound areas of Navapura, City, Wadi and Panigate till the situation becomes normal.
Police said a combing operation had begun in the area.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsI...01&CatID=2<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I am pretty sure that this place of worship was a Mandir because if it was a Mosque it would have mentioned it and the damage caused and also inflate the age of the mosque to a few hundred years to make us look like fanatics.
Look at how the age of the dargah keeps on increasing by a hundred years with each passing day, see these news reports:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->âHe said no-one knows exactly how old the dargah is but 'it has been here for many decades'.â
http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/may/01guj1.htm
â100-year-old dargahâ:
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060503/main3.htm
â200-year-old dargahâ
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002...021860.htm
âmore than 200-year-old dargahâ
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000...021001.htm
"300-year-old structure"
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060503/asp/...ory_6176325.asp<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Soon, if you read that it was there for over a 1000 years don't be surprised.
I am going to post the whole articles since they might not be archived and might come in handy later.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->We were forced to fire: Vadodara police
Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi | May 01, 2006 16:26 IST
Following the communal tension at Fatehpur, near the Champaner Gates in Vadodara, a large part of the old city has been placed under curfew. Two people have been killed and seven injured in the violence.
"We were forced to fire at the crowd," said Deepak Swaroop, Vadodara city police commissioner, while talking to rediff.com.
While giving chronology of the events, Swaroop said, "The demolition drive has been on for the last 15 days, as per the master plan of the city. There were orders to demolish any kind of encroachment, whether it's a temple or a mosque or any illegal construction in the house of a senior officer."
He added, "As per the order, some temples, too, have been demolished. Today it was the turn of the dargah of Rashidudin Rahimtullah, a Sufi saint." He said no-one knows exactly how old the dargah is but 'it has been here for many decades'.
Since the Muslim community had been agitated over the possibility of the demolitions, Swaroop had arranged meetings between Muslim leaders, the city mayor and the municipal commissioner. However, no consensus was reached and the court did not give a stay order on the demolitions.
"We were compelled to use force as a crowd of over 3000 people gheraoed the dargah. We first used tear gas, then we lathi-charged and only then did we fire, before the demolition work was completed," he said.
When asked why he did not delay the demolition, Swaroop said, "I used to pray at a Sai Baba temple right across from my house. Even that was demolished a few days back and I could do nothing about it."
Hemant Gandhi, a resident of Vadodara who witnessed the tussle around the dargah said, "We expect more tension because there are two other dargahs on the list to be demolished and one of them is in the middle of a road. We expect the tension to continue if the city corporation does not delay the demolition drive."
http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/may/01guj1.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->One burnt alive in Vadodara
Vadodara, May 2
In a fresh bout of violence, one person was burnt alive when an irate mob set a car on fire in curfew-bound Arjun road area here late tonight.
Tension gripped the Nyaya Mandir area as a mob attacked a small place of worship just behind the district and sessions court here today when curfew was relaxed in Raopura and Panigate police station areas between 1230 hrs and 1430 hrs.
Nyaya Mandir, in the central business district, is where most of the government offices, including the collectorate and court, are located.
A violent mob armed with swords and other sharp-edged weapons, entered the court premises yesterday afternoon to give vent to their anger against the court refusing stay on the demolition of a 100-year-old dargah.
Another case of violence was also reported from Hathikhana in a non-curfew area. Meanwhile, another person injured in yesterdayâs police firing succumbed to his injuries at the hospital early today, taking the death toll to five. â UNI
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060503/main3.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Stone pelting incidents in two areas in Vadodara
Vadodara, May. 2 (PTI): Sporadic incidents of stone-pelting were reported in Vadodara today as one person was killed in police firing taking the toll in the violence in the aftermath of demolition of a 200-year-old dargah to five, police said.
A group of people pelted stones at a roadside temple in Nyay Mandir area of the city this afternoon. The situation was later brought under control, police said. Police fired at a rioting mob around 2 am in Moti Vohrawaad area killing one person, while two others sustained injuries in clashes, they said.
Police said members of two communities also pelted stones at each other in Dayalbhau Kacha area of the city. "Situation is under control in all the other parts of the city," police said.
Additional companies of the State Reserve Police (SRP) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been deployed at the sensitive localities and patrolling has also been stepped up to prevent any untoward incident, police added.
The communal disturbance that broke out after the demolition of the religious structure has left 50 persons injured in and around the police station area of the city. Authorities have decided to relax curfew in Raopura and Panigate for two hours in the afternoon. Curfew has also been relaxed for two hours in the evening in Wadi and Karelibaugh, police added.
Authorities have not given any respite to the worst-hit city police station area and are closely monitoring the situation.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002...021860.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Situation peaceful, curfew to be relaxed in Vadodara
Vadodara, May 2 (PTI): The situation in the city was peaceful today and curfew would be relaxed for two hours in four areas later in the day, police said.
The authorities have decided to relax curfew for two hours in the afternoon in Raopura and Panigate areas and for two hours in the evening at Wadi and Karelibaug, police added.
Security has been strengthened with the deployment of additional personnel of Rapid Action Force and State Reserve Police in sensitive localities of Vadodara where flag march was held this morning.
Demolition of a more than 200-year-old dargah here by the civic authorities yesterday sparked widespread violence, leading to clashes and police firing, that claimed four lives and left several others injured, forcing the authorities to impose curfew in the sensitive walled city area.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000...021001.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Menacing turn in VadodaraÂ
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Ahmedabad, May 2: Ashfaq Arab, 21, died today hours after he had got engaged as Vadodara continued to boil.
Clashes that erupted after a 300-year-old dargah was demolished yesterday have claimed five lives in the city so far.
âThe anger against the administration is now turning communal. It is unfortunate but it is happening. It is beyond our control. We are unable to restrain our youths,â said Zuber Gopalani, a minority leader in Vadodara.
Ashfaq, a resident of the Wadi locality, was killed instantly when police opened fire at close range around 3 am, his neighbour Abdul Quayyam said. The youth had got engaged last evening.
But the police claim that he was injured in the clashes yesterday.
Union minister of state for home Sri Prakash Jaiswal, who arrived at Vadodara late last evening, has expressed his displeasure over the âcallousnessâ of the administration which pulled down the dargah on the pretext of clearing the way for traffic.
The minority community had wanted the dargah, which Gopalani said exists on the cityâs original master plan of 1921, to be declared a heritage structure.
Its demolition sparked a violent resistance, in which about 50 people have been injured. Jaiswal blamed the administration for the violence, saying the civic authorities should have tried to save the 300-year-old structure.
Social activist Teesta Setelvad said in a statement that according to a âcompromiseâ formula worked out between the community leaders and the administration on Sunday, only a part of the shrine was to have been âsacrificed for developmentâ. But the police demolished the whole structure next day and, by the afternoon, âhad paved a road over itâ.
Incidents of stone-pelting and arson were reported today from curfew-bound Fatehpura and Yakubhara where the Rapid Action Force and state reserve police have been patrolling the streets. Police had to use teargas to disperse crowds that tried to disrupt the funeral processions of those killed yesterday.
Although the police claimed the clashes are not communal, a mob of members of one community set ablaze a cotton godown owned by a member of the other community. Stone pelting was also reported at Nyaya Mandir.
Minority leaders have submitted a memorandum to the minister seeking the dargahâs restoration.
Asked if the dargah could be restored, Vadodara municipal commissioner Rohit Pathak said: âI cannot say anything about it. It is beyond my powers now.â
The anti-encroachment drive has been suspended.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060503/asp/...ory_6176325.asp<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Seems like with every passing day, the age of the dargah increases by a century.
<!--QuoteBegin-Bharatvarsh+May 5 2006, 07:59 PM-->QUOTE(Bharatvarsh @ May 5 2006, 07:59 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Seems like with every passing day, the age of the dargah increases by a century.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--emo&:roll--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ROTFL.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ROTFL.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:roll--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ROTFL.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ROTFL.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The riotous media story
Swapan Dasgupta |
Last Tuesday and Wednesday, a handful of TV channels tried their utmost to trigger communal riots in Gujarat, if not the rest of India. I happened to be in West Bengal on the days Vadodara was said to be burning, and it was clear as daylight that the media was bent on stirring things up.Â
Sitting in a studio while voting was in progress in Muslim-majority districts like Murshidabad, I could only speculate about the editorial rationale behind constant telecast of footage of young lumpens stoning policemen and frightened women mourning the tragic killing of a Muslim businessman in a burning car. The commentary was equally inflammatory - "animal-like brutality" and "tandav lila" were just two of the descriptions of Gujarat's still-born Intifada.
By the evening, Communist leaders were warning people to be vigilant about a replay of the 2002 riots, the explosion of passion that yielded such handsome dividends for the Left in the 2004 general election.
I don't know whether the media coverage of the Vadodara clashes influenced Muslim voters to gang up against the Trinamool Congress and BJP candidates in West Bengal, but in the rest of India riots didn't break out. This was despite the attempt of at least one channel to suggest that local Muslims were being targeted as Pakistanis by a communalised Gujarat police.
"Modidom", the secular activist description of Gujarat, did not burn but not for the want of secular prodding of local Muslims. The clashes in Vadodara prompt larger questions centred on the mindset of secular activism. First, it was apparent to all that the demolition of what the secularist weekly Outlook called the "less significant and tiny Rashiduddin Chishti dargah" built in the early-20th century was not the outcome of any Hindu-Muslim tensions.
The removal was dictated by the imperatives of urban renewal-in this case, road widening. It was not any different from the demolition of at least 10 Hindu temples in the city for the same reason. In other words, the demolition was prompted by the local municipality's sense of the larger good. There was a case for relocating the dargah but to suggest that the roadside shrine should have been left alone because it was dear to local Muslims suggest that there should be one rule for the aam aadmi and one rule for minorities. Teesta Setalvad may believe so but there is no reason why upright, patriotic Indians should concur.
In theory, the suggestion is preposterous but this is precisely what secular activism is now demanding. The demolition of the grand malls on MG Road in Delhi was bitterly resented by fashion designers. They pleaded with the authorities, wept before the cameras and staged havans and dharnas but to no avail. The malls were deemed unauthorised and demolished. After all, there couldn't be one law for Page 3 people and one law for slum dwellers.
Yet, differential treatment is what the wannabe Intafadists demanded and secured, if the response of the Centre is anything to go by. Maybe they took their cue from the Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid and his brother who assaulted a person within the precincts of the Prime Minister's residence and in full gaze of the cameras.
To this date, the Delhi Police have refused to register an FIR. The ingenuous suggestion is that such an FIR goes against the "secular" Preamble of the Constitution. Would such an argument have held if the assailant was, say, Praveen Togadia of the VHP?
These are no longer rhetorical points. For the past few months, undesirable pressure groups ranging from the Maoist killers, Taliban look-alikes and disruptive Luddites-backed by mediapersons who wish they didn't have passports have been pressuring a vulnerable Centre to acquiesce in moves that stall the march of a resurgent India. Narendra Modi is constantly at the receiving end of their ire because he is one man who is not afraid of calling their treacherous bluff. What a shame that he confines himself to Gujarat.
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An old article about illegal strictures being demolished in Madurai:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Over 800 encroachments removed from ancient Madurai cityÂ
Madurai, pti:
The demolition was carried out following a High Court order on February 3 and the demolished structures included 250 roadside temples.
The roads of this historic temple city, praised in ancient Tamil literature, have got back their original glory with civic officials pulling down more than 800 encroachments including 250 roadside temples, some of them century old.
The demolition of roadside temples was accomplished following a High Court order on February 3 last, to take effective steps to remove all encroachments on public roads.
Civic officials not only razed down temples but even roadside offices of political parties, one or two churches and a dargah.
Police had a tough time in removing the devotees who had squatted inside the temple and refused to move when the bulldozers and procline machines roared to the site.
The officials had to convince the people about the need to execute the High Court order. âWe are demolishing all the places of worship, all the houses, flag posts, etc and we donât discriminate,â the officials said.
Officials also deputed a special team of intelligence to carry out liaison work negotiating with unauthorised occupants and persuade them to vacate the building.
In the case of the temples, the idols and other articles were removed in advance by the persons concerned. While the ground work of police officials helped avert clashes in many places, in some they had to use force to remove the devotees as the talks failed.
Temples in many places had been constructed with the hidden agenda which varied. There were temples which fetched more than Rs two lakh a year to the trustees who celebrated annual festivals.
There were also temples in the bustling market area which helped the traders extend their sun shade on both sides of the temples. In some places people had extended their houses till the periphery of the temple.
However, the demolition of roadside temples and encroachments had been both appreciated and scorned.
Chockalingam, a senior politician said people understand now that public places should not be occupied. The broad roadsides would reduce the problem of parking on roadsides.
Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy said the government had definitely earned the wrath of the people, who were stranded on streets, after providing them legitimacy to live in.
K V R Subramanian, an auditor, suggested legal action be taken against corporation officials who had permitted the roadsides to be encroached.
Many people at the demolition site were sad that the places of worship had been pulled down. Those who had built a roof over their head and run small business and tea shops to eke out their living are now in the street.
All the same, they ask how did the Corporation give them power and water connection and allowed unauthorised roadside temples to come up in the first place? Some temples had been attached to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment trust, and Corporation had been condemned for removing those temples, and now a legal battle is in the offing between the Corporation and the HR and CE Department.
Corporation officials, who had been aggressive in the initial stage of the âoperation evictionâ, have slowed down now after another High Court bench took a slightly different view on March 22 and said the court had not given any blanket powers to the Corporation to remove the encroachments with utter disregard to law. Justice D Murugesan told the officals to follow procedures before demolishing.
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Actually, majority or riots are started by Muslims. Hindus are not only passive but oppressed by every government in power. When Hindu reacts it surprise everyone.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Secularism of convenience </b>
Pioneer.com
A 'dargah' where 'puja' is held can be termed Islamic only in Gujarat because it's convenient, says Tarun VijayÂ
When the deluge comes, it comes the way it did in Iraq. There is turmoil in Nepal. And Moscow has openly accused Washington for having begun the Cold War. In such times, when Dhaka, Kathmandu, Moscow and Washington affect our domestic issues, we are busy partying. Today, elections are contested and won not on issues but through exchange of expensive gifts and shows of nautch girls.
While dead bodies of Indians butchered abroad are shipped back home, those who are slaughtered within are cremated unsung - and a "brave" Home Minister returns without seeing them fearing any unkind reaction. We lost battle in safeguarding our interests in Nepal; we are ready to vacate Siachen despite protests by the Army brass; we signed a nuclear deal to cap our own future strategic options; and, we have allowed Bangladeshis to vote and elect a State Government. Worse, we feel happy to welcome separatist leaders in the Prime Minister's Office to get favourable headlines. It seems India has vanished from the lexicon of our politicians. They just live and think of their immediate vote avenues.
Like Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar's last days, the UPA regime has its area of influence shrunk to Connaught place-Gurg-aon region: The NCR of Delhi. The Government is brave enough to show the card of law and order to the weaker sections. For the rest, the law is bent and changed at will.
<b>Thirty-five Indians were killed in Doda and 42 temples were demolished in Vadodara (by local authorities). Nothing moved the Central Government and media, but the demolition of a non-descript dargah. The Supreme Court was petitioned and a stay obtained immediately. On TV channels, it was Vadodara and not Doda. It seems we have beco-me immune to Hindu killings and temple demolitions</b>.
Vadodara news was used in the most provocative manner to instill hate and fear among Muslims. The "principled" correspondents didn't find time to speak to Doda victims, but expressed sorrow at the sight of closed shops and burnt cars in Vadodara - and, of course, the demolished dargah.
A couple of months earlier, newspapers in Muslim countries, especially Pak-istan, published angry pro-tests over the demolition of a site allegedly related to the life of Prophet Mohammad by Saudi authorities. It's interesting to note that our "secular" media kept a studied silence on it. The demolitions were carried out to make space for various purposes, including luxury apartments.
In 1998, the grave of Mohammed's mother was bulldozed. Mr Tarek Fatah, a Pakistani-Canadian Muslim activist, wrote, "What makes this demolition worse is the fact that the home of the Prophet is to make way for a parking lot, two 50-storey hotel towers and seven 35-storey apartment blocks; a project known as the Jabal Omar Scheme, all within a stone's throw of the Grand Mosque. Yet, despite this outrage, not a single Muslim country, no ayatollah, no mufti, no king, not even a Muslim Canadian imam has dared utter a word in protest.''
Are dargahs Islamic? Do they have any sanction in Islam? Dargah worship literally means puja of the grave. Ironically, these dargahs are mostly visited by Hindus, who mostly believe in jadoo-tona. There are dhoop, agarbattis, music, songs and people with various problems come to get rid of "ghosts" and take back tabeez. These rituals are not Islamic.
<b>While Hindus are told to respect the law of the land and follow the court's verdict on Ayodhya, the administration and law is expected to respect the sentiments of Islamist rioters. In Kashmir, when 70 temples were demolished, nobody questioned the State authority.</b>
Thousand of shops and houses were bulldozed in Delhi amid protests of citizens, who had lost all they had earned in a lifetime. The Government stonewalled them saying nothing could be done, as it was carrying the orders of the court. Similarly, in Vadodara, all was well till Hindu temples were being demolished. The moment a dargah was touched, Delhi was shaken and a stay obtained from the Supreme Court. What a secular state we are!
With governance like this, and the Opposition busy raising trivial issues, we must not expect better than this.
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