The compounds of numerous textile mills that once gave Ahmedabadthe tag Manches

Tag : Mixed Textile

It is not generally recalled that Ahmedabad is one of Indiasoldest surviving cities. Founded in 1411 by Sultan Ahmed Shah(after whom the city is named) and then in turn Mughal, Maratha andBritish, Ahmedabad will be 600 years old in 2011. The original citywas the walled city on the eastern side of the Sabarmati which runsthrough the city dividing it into two, one representing the pastand the other the present aspect of the city. On the eastern sideis a warren of intricately carved pols, temples, mosques and gates;the compounds of numerous textile mills that once gave Ahmedabadthe tag Manchester of the East; and Shahibaug, the gardens laidout by Shah Jahan when he was viceroy in Gujarat, where Ahmedabadsold money has its mansions. On the west bank are moderninstitutions such as the IIM, busy shopping areas and the fastexpanding residential areas of the upwardly mobile and aspiringmiddle and upper class.
Almost all the bombs that comprised Saturdays serial blasts wereset off on the eastern side of the river. This today is an area ofcrowded markets selling hardware and electronics, chemicals tradersand neighbourhoods of the genteel, the lower middle class, formermill-workers and the poor. The Civil Hospital, also a target, isone of the countrys oldest and most efficient hospitals, asprawling facility spread over 110 acres with specialists that drawequally from the low income groups in the city and prosperousIndians from overseas.
What did those who planted the bombs hope to achieve with theirattack? Given that a group with Islamic overtones has claimedresponsibility and that Ahmedabad was the nerve centre of the 2002communal violence, probably the worst assault on the Muslimminority community in post-independence India, revenge seems aclear motive. But the blasts are clearly also part of a largerpattern to destabilise Indian cities.
And Indias seventh-largest city is a significant target. Despite adip in the 80s and 90s, the city has come to be the centre of athriving pharmaceutical and chemicals industry. Home to leadingpharma companies, Zydus Cadila and Torrent, the fast growing Adanigroup, Nirma and a clutch of foreign concerns including BoschRexroth, the city is also a leading supplier of denim, gems andjewellery. Six years ago NASSCOM rated it fifth in a list of mostattractive destinations for IT-enabled services. In recent yearsthe city has expanded and undergone a further makeover with massivemalls, new hotels, transport and beautification projects and theemergence on its outskirts of the Gujarat International Finance TecCity (GIFT), a futuristic-looking 27,000 ha finance and businessdistrict.
In fact, Narendra Modi has staked his reputation on development andwhile reports suggest his growth figures may have been wildlyinflated, his vision of Ahmedabad as an emerging Singapore hasfuelled optimism in the state. It is possible that Modisreluctance to upset the city and the states progress  evidencedin his focus on economic growth early in his last election campaign is the reason for his uncharacteristically neutral response toSaturdays attacks, unlike his stance after the Godhra incident in2002. Recent hoardings in the city, among other things, alsosuggest that his ambitions have expanded beyond Gujarat. And withan eye to Delhi it is possible that he wants to shed his demagogicimage and project himself as a statesmanlike figure.
The consequences of anti-minorityism, however, cannot be wishedaway so easily. The last six years have seen no furtherdisturbances in Ahmedabad, unusual for a city known for endemiccommunal violence. Yet this calm is a mere veneer anddiscrimination from Hindus and fear among Muslims has driven thelatter out of mixed neighbourhoods.
Migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan form a substantial partof these enclaves; they were prominent targets in the 2002 riots.These and other victims have rebuilt their lives but still livewith memories of past horrors and a belief that the state is noteven-handed in its treatment of its citizens. Religion however isnot the only grounds of disparity. Moving about the city, it isimpossible to miss the blatant difference between the gleamingtowers and lifestyle of the nouveau riche and the proliferatingslums of the back streets.
Migration, discrimination and a growing disparity among the richand the poor  these are the features prominently visible inAhmedabad; they are also emerging characteristics of many Indiancities today. Suggestions made by intelligence authorities of localinvolvement in the blasts have still to be fully probed but theseare possibly some issues for policy-makers to address for long-termmeasures in the fight against terrorism.
Mumbai-based Shah is the author of Hype, Hypocrisy and Televisionin Urban India
express@expressindia.com