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Uneasy calm in new India as it grapples with terrorism
Published on Sun, May 18, 2008 at 01:20 in 
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SEEKING PEACE: Many wonder how long the peace will last as they come to terms with reality.
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When Malegaon stood united in calm after the blasts in 2006, many wondered how long peace would last in this communally sensitive town. 18 months later, while some wounds were yet to heal, Malegaon is uneasy, but still at peace.
Shafeeque Ahmed lost both his son and nephew at the Noorani Masjid blast in Malegaon. For days, he was inconsolable, but when he was offered Rs 1 lakh as compensation, his sorrow turned to anger. When Sonia Gandhi handed him the compensation cheque, Sheikh chose to return it.
“The Government gave only Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the kin of people who died in Malegaon blast whereas in other states like Rajasthan and Punjab, the Government gives Rs 5 lakh. Why are you differentiating after death?” Shafeeque asks.
Yet Malegaon, a Muslim majority town, seems to have moved on. The big issue today is not terror, but development. Malegaon's textile industry is growing and communal violence is on the decline.
“Malegaon citizens are fully aware of terrorists’ conspiracy. The common man now only wants development and advancement in the area now,” Shiv Sena MLA Dada Bhuse says.
For Malegaon's many powerloom workers, economic bonds between Hindus and Muslims here now overshadow terror.
“Muslims here are chiefly into manufacturing and Hindus into supply and purchase. The important thing is that both communities trust each other,” Nimba Kadam, who’s a power loom worker, explains.
Varanasi
When the bomb went off at Varanasi's Sankatmochan Temple, Devi Das Bijlani's son Harish — a photographer — was shooting a wedding. It was to be his last work. Harish died in the blast. Bijlani says he doesn't believe in the spirit of Varanasi any more.
“You can call it spirit or unity, but I call it an act of cowardice,” Bijlani says.
Two years after the attack, Harish’s wife, Neha Bijlani, still breaks down when she hears of a bomb blast.
“When I saw the news about Jaipur blasts, everything just came back to me. We were unable to shake his memories from my head,” Neha says.
Over time, victims' families may forget the nightmare of March 7, but will not find it easy to forgive. An underlying bitterness will continue to threaten Varanasi's uneasy calm.
Hyderabad
A year after terror struck, Hyderabad seems to have recovered. But there are undercurrents.
Juniad's allegations of torture faced by those detained as suspects, have been confirmed by the state Minority Commission.
“If you read the charge sheet, the FIRs filed, it is all bogus. By arresting those people for six and a half months and keeping them in jail, you have antagonised the whole community. You have really hardened those youths over there and some of them might even turn towards radicalism,” MIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi says.
The slow progress of the investigation into the blasts has further dented confidence in the justice system, fuelling suspicion and paranoia.
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OK, so what is this article all about ? Terrorism or Muslims facing problems after terrorist attacks. This is such
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