it had humble beginnings. It was built to rehabilitate people affected by the floods in 1973. The population was largely Muslim, but the affluent stayed away because of its haphazard wall-to-wall buildings. All that changed in February 2002.

In the aftermath of the riots, Muslims from across the city resettled in Juhapura. It was crowded, the amenities were poor, but the area offered security. Naedeem Jafri arrived in Juhapura in 2002 for the same reason. He relocated from Paldi, an area dominated by the Jain community. Jafri is a Cheliya, a group of Muslims prospering from the hospitality boom in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

In 2004, he quit an advertising agency to launch a retail outlet in Juhapura. It was a risky move. “There was a dumpyard next to my shop.is resistance in society. But Gujarat lets you do your work. Nobody minds your religion if you are good at your work.”

His Chances at the Polls

Rebellion in BJP & a pumped-up Congress. Modi faces his biggest electoral battle yet. Will he scrape through?

In October 2005, a few days before the municipal elections in Ahmedabad, Narendra Modi addressed a large public gathering in the city. The Ahmedabad mayor then was Anisa Begum Mirza of the Congress. Modi told the crowd that it was time the people of the city ended Mughal sashan (rule). He said people must vote for his Bharatiya Janata Party to end the rule of the begum.

At subsequent meetings, Modi repeated these lines. The tactic to attack Mirza’s religion worked; the BJP wrested control of the