Riot victims don’t want to return to Gujarat

[1]

The developments in Gujarat over the last few years beckons them, but the victims of the February 2002 communal riots do not want to return. The riot victims who settled down in Hyderabad do not hesitate to admire the development in their native state.

“Gujarat has progressed tremendously after we left. It is unprecedented,” is the common refrain among the riot victims. “It is amazing to see the development in Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara. The infrastructure in Gujarat is better than that of many states.

“But Hyderabad has given us a new lease of life after the riots and we want to stay here,” the victims said.

Mr Mohammad Nathani, 50, was the first to settle down in Hyderabad in April 2002. He lost his property and came to Hyderabad with a few hundred rupees. Hailing from Kutch, Mr Nathani is a happy man today and he does not want to recall the nightmare. His eldest son works for a big firm in an African country.

Mr Nathani received financial assistance for one year and started a tomato sauce manufacturing unit. Later he shifted to marketing. “I visited Ahmedabad and other cities six months back. Gujarat has progressed a lot,” he says.

Mr Barkat Isani, 30, joins the conversation. “Things are fine in Gujarat now,” he says.

Mr Isani hails from Bhavnagar and was just out of his teens when he came to Hyderabad. Like many other riot victims, he prefers Hyderabad. “I worked in a bakery after I came to Hyderabad. I even drove an autorickshaw. By God’s grace, I am a marketing executive and earn handsomely now,” he says.
On the 10th anniversary of the riots, many families offered special prayers for their relatives who died in the riots.

“We do not want to return to Gujarat. We have found peace and happiness in Hyderabad,” say Mohammad Salman and Mohammad Afroze from Ahmedabad. If the riot victims express love for Hyderabad, it was thanks to the silent relief and rehabilitation works carried out by local charitable bodies.

The Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust developed four colonies and many schools for the victims.