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Five weddings bring joy for riot-hit families of Patan village

A Class VII dropout the groom from Mehsana has completed his secondary class and works as a daily wage labourer.

five weddings, riot hit families, patan village, patan, village, riots, families, weddings, groom, bride, marriage, hindu-muslim riot, india news, indian express news Shabana Ahmed, Shaista Sipahi and Rashida Malek. Javed Raja

Eighteen-year-old Shabana Ahmed Malek, like any other young woman, was excited about her new life, preparing for her marriage till about two months ago.

But everything changed after March 25 when her village, Vagjipara, a Muslim-populated area on the fringes of Vadavali in Chanasama taluka of Patan, witnessed a “Hindu-Muslim riot”, as termed by the district administration in its report.

Shabana and four other Patan clash victims were among 27 girls who got married at the first mass wedding at Vagjipara village on Sunday.

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The 18-year-old had just cleared her Class IX exams and her friends and neighbours said that she was busy preparing for her wedding with Irfan Belim (21), a greengrocer in Mehsana.

But the clash left Shabana’s family with a looted one-room house that was allegedly set afire by a mob of over 5,000 from nearby Sunsar village.

Festive offer

“The wedding was already scheduled for June and my parents had saved whatever they could afford. But the incident left nothing but ashes at this place,” Shabana said, pointing towards her house, a week ago. They have managed to install a new iron door at the freshly repaired and painted house.

She had just returned from her maternal uncle’s home in Mehsana where she was sent on March 25 like all other young girls of the Muslim colony of over 1,500 people.

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After the incident, her family decided to wed her off at the mass marriage along with 26 other girls. Her father, the only breadwinner in the family of five, works in a flour mill.

Apart from the five clash victims, 12 brides were from Vadavali, two from Nandasan, two from Mehsana, two sisters from Patan and others from nearby villages.

“The mass wedding was recently planned after we visited the village. While interacting with the families, we overheard a father-daughter’s conversation about the latter’s marriage when they were left with nothing. The father assured her not to worry saying that her marriage will be held on the scheduled date even if he had to beg,” said

Abdul Latif, convenor Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind, Ahmedabad, the organiser of the mass wedding.

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Not too far from Shabana’s house, stays 19-year-old Rashida Malek, another of the five clash victim brides. “After the little cash, my parents had saved, and my mother’s small jewellery like gold earrings and silver anklets were stolen in the clash, it was difficult to think about my marriage, which was already fixed,” revealed Rashida.

A Class VII drop-out the groom from Mehsana has completed his secondary class and works as a daily wage labourer.

Her mehandi was held on Saturday.

Another victim to get married was Shaista Sipahi (18) who lost her mother when she was very young. She lived with her father, a vegetable vendor, visually-challenged grandmother and her younger brother.

The other brides from Vagjipara, Rukaiyya Sipahi and Mehrunissa Malek too had just returned from their relatives house where they were staying for the last two months.

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“The mass wedding was not planned to be an all-Muslim event. We wanted other communities like Thakore to participate as well. But with the fresh memories of the incident that left one dead, 20 injured, 25 vehicles and houses gutted and cattle looted by the alleged mob of Thakore community from Sunsar village, we could not convince them.

But we are glad that the function went smooth with a large gathering of people who had come to bless the newly-wed couples,” Mufti Abdul Kayyum Mansuri, vice president of Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind told The Indian Express.

With Rs 50,000 cash and basic items like double bed, cupboard and utensils, the girls left with their husbands to start their lives afresh Sunday evening.

First uploaded on: 22-05-2017 at 06:26 IST
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