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"This Was A BJPLab Experiment"

The trustee of <i>Gujarat Today</i> the only Muslim newspaper in the state with a wide readership on the recent riots.

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"This Was A BJPLab Experiment"
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is the only Muslim newspaper in the state with a wide readership. Shiraj Tirmizi, trustee of the paper, is a low-profile man who shuns publicity. He spoke to
on the recent riots that has hit the Muslims the worst. Excerpts:

How do you explain this outbreak of violence?
Gujaratis are an industrious people and over the years they have been so busy making money that the smaller and temporal affairs have been left to outsiders. Gujaratis have specialised in hiring contractors to do jobs that they should have done themselves. We’re now seeing the result of this indifference. Religion here is in the hands of outsiders (mainly from UP and Bihar). A lot of this violence is their handiwork.

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What about the role of the VHP, Bajrang Dal and the state BJP government?
It’s well known that Gujarat is a BJP laboratory where it has experimented well. This latest round of carnage is another such experiment. If the results are good, then who knows how far they will go.

How would you define this lab?
The VHP has built a vast network throughout the state. They have offices in small villages and talukas in remote parts and their members there can spring into action at a short notice. It’s difficult to explain how marauding mobs managed to identify Muslim targets in the heat of the moment? About seven or eight years ago, Shiv Sainiks travelling in a train were attacked at the Palej station between Baroda and Bharuch. There was violence but it was localised. Since Shiv Sena is not Gujarat-based and has no structure here, the violence didn’t spread. The VHP in Gujarat is a different cup of tea.

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Where is all this going?
The state has been set back by a few years. Factories have closed down, industries are in disarray and workers, particularly Muslims, are fleeing to either neighbouring states or ghettos inside the state where they will feel safer.

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