Gujarat - a state divided

Gujarat - a state divided

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Separation of communities is common across India, but nowhere is it as systematised as it has become in the western state of Gujarat.

When it comes to Hindu-Muslim relations, Gujarat is a place of paradox. The state's pro-business leadership has created opportunities for entrepreneurs of all creeds; yet religious prejudice and segregation are deeply, and even legally, engrained.

. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

The Muslim neighbourhood of Juhapura, pictured above, is a case in point.

The area is a sprawling Muslim township of roughly 400,000 people within Ahmedabad, Gujarat's largest city. Here, filthy slum streets rub against smart new apartment blocks and enclaves, as even members of the community's fast-growing urban middle class find it difficult to buy housing in areas dominated by Hindus.

The situation is perpetuated by a property law unique to the state, which restricts Muslims and Hindus from selling property to each other in "sensitive" areas.

The law, introduced in 1991 to avert an exodus or distress sales in neighbourhoods hit by inter-religious unrest, has created ghettos such as Juhapura and a sense of apartheid in some urban areas.

. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

The situation in Gujarat is especially significant because Narendra Modi, the man who ruled the state for more than 12 years, is now India's prime minister.

Modi (pictured above in a poster near the Muslim neighbourhood of Juhapura) became chief minister of Gujarat in 2001.

The 63-year-old Hindu nationalist surrounded himself with technocrats - and also ministers and advisers who promote "Hindutva", a belief in the dominance of Hinduism.

But while Modi’s critics depict him as an autocratic Hindu supremacist, Modi himself insists he is a moderate who will create a prosperous India for people of all creeds.

. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

Yet Modi's record in his home state is clouded by religious riots in 2002, when 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in a frenzy of mob violence.

In the image above a Muslim man named Sayeed Khan Pathan poses inside his house, which was burnt and damaged in the unrest.

Modi still struggles to shake off the perception he did not do enough to stop the bloodshed, despite a Supreme Court investigation that found no case against him and his own insistence he did all he could to keep the peace.

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Slideshow

Boys play in the Muslim-dominated district of Juhapura.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

Boys play in the Muslim-dominated district of Juhapura.

A Muslim girl, whose hand has been decorated with henna, stands outside her house in the neighbourhood.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

A Muslim girl, whose hand has been decorated with henna, stands outside her house in the neighbourhood.

Women rest inside a house for widows in Juhapura.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

Women rest inside a house for widows in Juhapura.

Yasmin Banu Sheikh, a Muslim, poses with a photograph of herself and her husband.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

Yasmin Banu Sheikh, a Muslim, poses with a photograph of herself and her husband.

A Muslim boy helps his friend with his turban inside a mosque in Juhapura.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

A Muslim boy helps his friend with his turban inside a mosque in Juhapura.

A Muslim girl studies at a Madrassa, or religious school, in the neighbourhood.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

A Muslim girl studies at a Madrassa, or religious school, in the neighbourhood.

Children ride to school in a van in Juhapura.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

Children ride to school in a van in Juhapura.

A Muslim butcher cuts a piece of meat.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

A Muslim butcher cuts a piece of meat.

A local leader named Hajibhai talks to a group of women asking about water issues in the neighbourhood.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

A local leader named Hajibhai talks to a group of women asking about water issues in the neighbourhood.

Muslim women fill their buckets with water along a roadside.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

Muslim women fill their buckets with water along a roadside.

Muslim boys play cricket in the area.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

Muslim boys play cricket in the area.

Auto rickshaws drive through Juhapura.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

Auto rickshaws drive through Juhapura.

A Muslim boy stands in the neighbourhood.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

A Muslim boy stands in the neighbourhood.

A balloon seller stands next to auto rickshaws in Juhapura.
. AHMEDABAD, India. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

A balloon seller stands next to auto rickshaws in Juhapura.