BLOOD SMOKE SHARDS HATE

A walk through the scarred aftermath of a classical riot

- Salik Ahmad

February 24, 12.15 pm. Donald and Melania Trump reach Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi explains to the guests the significance of the place, home to Mahatma Gandhi between 1917 and 1930. The POTUS and the FLOTUS also try their hand on the charkha.

About 1,000 km away, the situation at the Jafrabad-Maujpur area in New Delhi was mutating into a riot. The trigger appeared to be the speech on February 23 by BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who warned the police to clear anti-CAA protesters at Jafrabad and Chand Bagh. After three days and Trump gone, his people wouldn’t even listen to the police, Mishra had said, the police officer in charge of the area standing right beside him.

1:30 pm. “Your nation has always been admired around the Earth as the place where millions upon millions of Hindus and Muslims and Sikhs and Jains, Buddhists, Christians, and Jews worship side by side in harmony…. Your unity is an inspiration to the world.” – Donald Trump at Motera Stadium, Ahmedabad.

Hindu groups charge towards the anti-CAA protest site—peopled mostly by Muslims—at Jafrabad, resulting in heavy stone pelting from both sides. One person, identified as Shahrukh, is seen firing a handgun and pointing it at a policeman. Police seem to favour the Hindu mobs and is even seen throwing stones with them. Several vehicles and properties are also torched.

5.30 pm. The Trumps visit the Taj Mahal. It’s a timeless testament to the rich and diverse beauty of Indian culture, writes the American president in the visitor book.