The original Surtis comprise Ghnachi, Khatris, Baniyas and Ranas. They are known for their fun-loving nature, craze for food, and colourful language.
South Gujarat is known for its secular outlook, even after the rise of Hindutva in the state, and gives sizeable votes to the Congress. But today, original Surtis are in a minority in Surat, having been overwhelmed by migrants from Saurashtra who dominate the diamond trade. The migrants are quite saffronised, and many of them are neo-rich who flash their new wealth. This crowd lives around Varacha road, Ved road and Katar village, which areas are since long known as communally sensitive.
Surat has around five lakh Muslims who are a prominent part of the landscape. Not only do they claim to have equal economic opportunities, their educational institutions are also flourishing.
Even as the bombs were being found, one of the Muslim leaders, Salimbhai Ghadiyali, told rediff.com, "Just one month ago we had organised a huge meeting against terrorism. We appeal to everybody to cooperate and help find the bombs or anyone moving suspiciously."
S M Darjee, deputy director of the forensic laboratory, said the bombs did not explode as they did not have timer devices. They were similar, he said, to the bombs that were found unexploded in Ahmedabad. These bombs had integrated electronic chips that didn't work as planned. One can imagine the level of horror and destruction that would have been wrough had they gone as scheduled.
And finding so many bombs will not be taken lightly by voters, who had put their full trust in the chief minister's ability to provide security.
Image: A member of the bomb squad defuses a bomb kept inside an electricity pole.
Also see: Is Dawood Ibrahim behind Indian Mujahideen?
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