A reminder of things better not to think about

A gentle reminder was offered us today that not everything about India evolves around economic development, a truly multi-cultural democracy and happy, smiling children. The following email reached all of us today:

"As you all must be aware, the verdict in the Ayodhya case is due tomorrow at 3:30PM. In the light of that, it is advised to everyone that please do NOT go out of campus after today evening till you are sure that the situation is normal after the verdict has been pronounced.

Exchange students: we would advise you to take special care and make any travel plans (inside Ahmedabad or even outside over the weekend) after consulting a local person who would be able to tell you more about the situation."

The Ayodhya case is about a plot of land, where once a mosque and before that a Hindu temple stood. The Babri mosque was burnt by a Hindu mob in 1992 and in the violence that followed some 2000 people died. The verdict spoken of will determine whether the previous Hindu temple was demolished for the mosque to be built, or whether it was simply modified. Apparently, this will decide what might consequently be rebuilt, thus the anxiety.

Ahmedabad has sizable Hindu and Muslim populations and has seen riots before. In 2002, roughly 1000 people were killed as the result of communal violence in the state of Gujarat and many Ahmedabad buildings were then set on fire. The riots were the result of some 58 Hindus, mostly women and children,murdered by a mob attacking the train they were travelling in. All in all, the possibility of renewed violence should not be discounted. I, for one, will remain on campus doing some much-needed reading.

The picture shows the Babri mosque and has been downloaded from Wikipedia.