Godhra:
As the special court pronounced the sentence in Ahmedabad, two-and-a-half hours away in Ground Zero Godhra, communally-sensitive areas witnessed a predictable shutdown.
NDTV visited this town to get the first hand feel of the ground situation nine years after the Godhra tragedy provoked communal riots across Gujarat in which 1,200 people were killed, most of them Muslims. And fault lines are still apparent here.
But a stark contrast came to light right in the heart of the town where a practice match was going on between Godhra and Goa, both preparing for an annual trophy.
Team Godhra was created by Kapil Dev after the Gujarat riots to improve communal harmony.
The team survives, almost in defiance to the precarious peace Godhra has represented since 2002, with a celluloid feel-good aura.
"If Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan can play together for India, why can't Kalpesh Rawal and my friend Wasim Akram play for Godhra? We eat together, play together, laugh together," said Dr Kalpesh Rawal, local resident.
Wasim Akram was thirteen when the riots broke out.
"During the riots, my uncle and cousin were coming here from a nearby village. They never reached. I have no anger as everyone has to die someday," said Wasim.
Yet on the ground, Godhra remains volatile. Pitted against the justice delivered to victims of the carnage is a sense of injustice among families who suffered and lost in the Gujarat riots and continue to believe that the masterminds have gone scot free.
NDTV visited this town to get the first hand feel of the ground situation nine years after the Godhra tragedy provoked communal riots across Gujarat in which 1,200 people were killed, most of them Muslims. And fault lines are still apparent here.
But a stark contrast came to light right in the heart of the town where a practice match was going on between Godhra and Goa, both preparing for an annual trophy.
Team Godhra was created by Kapil Dev after the Gujarat riots to improve communal harmony.
The team survives, almost in defiance to the precarious peace Godhra has represented since 2002, with a celluloid feel-good aura.
"If Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan can play together for India, why can't Kalpesh Rawal and my friend Wasim Akram play for Godhra? We eat together, play together, laugh together," said Dr Kalpesh Rawal, local resident.
Wasim Akram was thirteen when the riots broke out.
"During the riots, my uncle and cousin were coming here from a nearby village. They never reached. I have no anger as everyone has to die someday," said Wasim.
Yet on the ground, Godhra remains volatile. Pitted against the justice delivered to victims of the carnage is a sense of injustice among families who suffered and lost in the Gujarat riots and continue to believe that the masterminds have gone scot free.
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