Ahmedabad has been always alienated on caste, community and religious lines.
But this is one of the very few mixed neighbourhoods left in communally divided Ahmedabad where harmony resides in.
This dilapidated Zalak Apartment of 50 flats is a home to 35 Hindu families in Juhapura, one of the largest Muslim ghettos in Asia, inhabited by almost 4.5 lakh residents.
Juhapura is one of India’s biggest Muslim ghettos, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad and little known village-turned-ghetto of some 400,000 Muslims.
Harmony flows from the public tap outside Zalak, where Hindu and Muslim women draw water from the same public tap while exchanging pleasantries.
Violence erupted in 1992 after the demolition of the Babri Majid. Mobs vandalized the homes in Zalak after looting. Peace has prevailed ever since in Zalak. There have been no major attacks here even when Gujarat turned into a communal cauldron in 2002.
“Life is peaceful here. We live in harmony just like the people of any other neighborhood,” says Vimla Yadav (53) who had moved into Zalak as a bride from UP. “Sometimes, peace is disrupted only when fights break out over petty issues.”
Gajendra Patel, a native of Rajasthan, rented a flat at Zalak two years ago.
Patel, a driver by occupation says he fails to figure out the fuss. “What is the big deal for a Hindu to stay here? We have Muslim friends who are supportive of us,” he says.
Aslam Qureshi, a garment trader, who resides next to Zalak, says whenever there is communal conflict in the city, people of the area make sure that inhabitants of Zalak aren’t touched.
