City has a history of riots

ahmedabad: surprising as it may seem, communal riots in ahmedabad can be traced back to as early as 1714. festivals of holi, id and rathyatra have been flash points since then. and acts like banning cow slaughter, ringing bells and blowing of conches in the vicinity of mosques and destruction of temples have only added fuel to the fire - virtually over the centuries. justice vs dave, who headed a commission of inquiry to investigate the 1985 riots, has painstakingly put together a history of ahmedabad city and communal riots that it has experienced over the centuries. the commission has devoted a special chapter to the 'history of riots and agitations in gujarat', in its bulky report submitted in 1992. while the report has remained under wraps, the chapter was made specially available to the times of india . "ahmedabad city, prior to its present form and being conquered by sultans, was ruled by hindu kings and it had not assumed the present name of ahmedabad. it was known as karnawati. it was known for its wealth and learning," the chapter notes. with the sultans invading india and settling down in gujarat, ahmedabad became their capital and the sultans ruled from this city after building the walled area (the walled city) for more than 162 years, the chapter goes on to state. in 1714, the earliest recorded communal riot in ahmedabad took place on the day of holi. according to records, one hari ram, the agent of a shroff (local banker), sprinkled gulal on a muslim. the muslim complained to kazi khairullahkhan to lodge a protest, but the kazi did not intervene, as he knew that viceroy daud khan had a soft corner for hindus. this resulted in a crowd of restive muslims ransacking the house of hari ram and looting and burning shops of hindus. normalcy was restored only after the armed guards of one kapurchand bhansali stopped the rioters from causing further damage. however, the enraged muslims complained before the mughal emperor of delhi about the partisan attitude of his viceroy. the emperor then imprisoned the muslims and also kapurchand. they were released only after the leaders of both sides patched up their differences. the next year, 1715, a second communal riot was sparked off when some muslim soldiers plundered the shops of hindus. the emperor then recalled daud khan and replaced him with maharaja ajitsinh, father-in-law of mughal ruler faroukh siyar. this was followed by a serious riot in 1716, on the occasion of id, when one of the many cows and buffaloes collected by the bohras of kalupur for sacrifice was released by a muslim havaldar. this led to large-scale plunder and riots. viceroy ajitsinh then assured the muslims that he would not allow any interference in their religious matters. despite the assurance, he soon imposed a ban on the slaughter of cows which antagonised muslims. a historical document 'mirat-i-ahmedi' observes that muslims were ill-treated during his rule; muslims in top positions were replaced by marwaris and this led to widening of the gulf between the two communities. the maratha administration was dubbed as being "instrumental in creating a riot in ahmedbad after its occupation by them". the report observes that "they appropriated any fine house which caught their fancy within the six gates under their administrative control". the conquerors were also blamed for exchanging fire with muslims over various issues. the building of a temple in ahmedabad in the vicinity of a mosque in 1750, ringing its bells and blowing conches at the time of evening namaz became a major flash point. so one friday the same year, those after returning from their evening prayers at the jama masjid destroyed the temple and, in the process, sparking off a riot. the restoration of hindu rule on february 27, 1753 by the peshwas and gaekwads, which lasted till 1817, created discontent amongst the people due to their plundering ways. besides, the fall of the city walls at different places and their being left unrepaired added to the sense of insecurity amongst the people living behind them. in 1941, when communal riots broke out, curfew was imposed for over two-and-a-half months. the trend continues in varying proportions even today. ahmedabad has thus been witnessing communal strife for over almost three centuries now, with little hope of the slate being wiped clean any time soon.