Poll effect? Disturbed Area ambit creeps farther

Zafar Sareshwala, a staunch supporter of PM Narendra Modi, is fuming. The former chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University has been served a notice under the Disturbed Areas Act, which prohibits buying-selling of property between Hindus and Muslims without a permission from the district collector, asking him to show cause why the registration of his flat in posh Delight Colony shouldn’t be annulled.


Sareshwala is not alone. Over the last decade, the

Gujarat

government has expanded the scope of the Act, first introduced as an ordinance by Madhavsinh Solanki-led Congress government in 1986 and firmed up as a law in 1991, when Chimanbhai Patel helmed over a coalition government. In 2010, the Act was amended and renamed the Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provision for Protection of Tenants from Eviction from Premises in Disturbed Areas Act, Gujarat.

Originally meant only for Ahmedabad, newer areas in cities and towns including Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, have been brought under the ambit of the law. The latest centre to be added to the list is Bharuch, hometown of Congress strategist Ahmed Patel. Right-wing leaders like Pravin Togadia are demanding that the Act be implemented in cities like Bhavnagar and Jamnagar too. In Ahmedabad, an additional 74 localities have been covered under the Act since July 2018, taking the total number to 770. Of these, 14 fall in Paldi, where Sareshwala owns a house.

Congress leaders allege that the strict enforcement of the law is aimed at pacifying right-wing elements. Observers say it may not translate into votes directly but certainly helps stirring up sentiments. The latest trigger has come in form of Varsha Apartments, a colony in Paldi, once inhabited by Hindus, now being occupied by Muslims.

In the run-up to the assembly elections in 2017, banners and posters proclaiming ‘Save Paldi from turning into another Juhapura’, one of the largest Muslim ghettos in Asia, had come up. Another said: ‘After love jihad, it’s time to fight land jihad.’ An organization called Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM)-Karnavati, an affiliate of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) was leading the protests invoking the Disturbed Areas Act.

On March 7, ahead of the

Lok Sabha

elections, the revenue department stated in an order that it has identified as many as 46 areas in Bharuch town that were "disturbed for a substantial period by reason of riots or violence of mob". These areas, it said, have been put under the Disturbed Areas Act in Bharuch — a town which constitutes 25% of Muslim population.

"After 5-year struggle, we have finally succeeded in getting the Act implemented in Bharuch. Many Muslim families had started buying properties in Hindu dominated areas, which created tension," said Dushyant Patel, Bharuch BJP MLA.

"The aim of the law was to ward off land mafia. However, it has been exploited by various political parties for electoral gains," said Ghanshyam Shah a political analyst. In Surat, the Act was implemented in October 2017, ahead of assembly elections, after Limbayat BJP legislator Sangita Patil and Surat West MLA Purnesh Modi made representations to the government.