The minorities had even renamed their locality from "Vaghriwad" to "Sultan Mohalla".

Namashkar,
I have spent one day in Gujrath to visit village adopted by IDRF. I  also spent few hours with UNI reporter to understand why English media is so against us. J.D.Patel  has mentioned to me  about  Hindu camps in Ahmedabad and how  media ignore them.  My journalist friend wrote this  report but it did not get published.  Hopefully we can publish in our magazines.
Vijay Pallod.
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Ahmedabad: Like those 85,000-odd refugees staying in 90-odd relief camps across Gujarat since February 27, these 475 refugees are also riot victims. But, neither the State Government, nor media, nor Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have approached them even with a sympathetic word, what to talk of providing any relief.

"That's so because we are Hindus. You cannot prove your credentials by highlighting our woes." Was the common, bitter refrain when this correspondent visited the Sant Saryudasji Maharaj Temple near Prem Darwaja, Kalupur, on hearing these Hindus had to take shelter in a temple that still remained on the ground in the hypersensitive area.

Since no assistance whatsoever came their way, they had to depend on doles of the temple in a curfew-bound area like Kalupur. As a result, the temple's stock of food grain and other eatables that could have lasted a year was exhausted in a week in feeding these 475 hungry souls twice a day.  They regretted that their "relief camp" was odd one out compared to 91 other relief camps set up by the government machinery for riot victims in different parts of the state as they are a small group of refugees belonging to a lower cast, Vaghari's.  Their complaints remained unheeded and hardly any assistance or aid was offered to them. May be, the reason could be the relief agencies believed that those affected people of the majority community must have been taken care of by influential people, which was hardly done in this case. The chief priest of the temple, Swami Suramdasji Maharaj said in 475 refugees of 106 families have taken shelter.    He said these refugees had arrived with only the clothes they wore on February 28 when attacked by the minority. The temple provided them shelter, clothes and foods. But no one knew how long this could be continued as temple's resources were drying up very fast due to limited donation received and the lack of fresh arrivals due to the curfew and tension. 

One of the victims, Rameshbhai Shantilal Dattania, a 55-year-old travel agent, said they were attacked in their locality where minority dominated the affairs. Mr Dattania, who had taken shelter alongwith his seven-member family, said the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) set up after the 1969 riots near their locality was removed as their services were needed elsewhere. This prompted the minority to attack them and force them to flee.

Another refugee, Deepak Nikulbhai Dattania (40), an auto-rickshaw driver, said his family's dream of arranging marriages of his sisters had been shattered as everything perished. He was supporting quite a big family - wife, kids, parents, younger brother and two sisters - with his meagre income, he added with choked voice tears rolling down his cheeks.  They complained that after they fled, the minorities had even renamed their locality from "Vaghriwad" to "Sultan Mohalla".

"We are willing to return to home provided we are given police protection," they said, adding, "How long can one remain an unwelcome
refugee."
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(Thanks to Mr.Dahyabhai Patel for sharing this article with CWC)