Mecca masjid blast: Hyderabadis maintain restraint

May 20, 2007
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, May 19: The restraint maintained by people after the Friday's bomb blast at the historic Mecca Masjid has once again proved that Hyderabadis have become wiser and seen through the game of communal elements.
A few years ago any small incident around the Mecca Masjid used to trigger communal violence. But during the last five years there have been no major incidents of violence however strong the provocation was.
For the first time the Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen faced the mob ire outside the Mecca Masjid. MIM legislators Akbaruddin Owaisi, Mumtaz Ahmad Khan and Syed Ahmad Pasha Quadri were roughed up by the mob which resisted his entry into the mosque after the blast. The mob also manhandled leaders of other political parties after the incident. The angry people also damaged the vehicles of the MIM.
In normal circumstances the MIM would have called the shots. The people kept the MIM aside and decided to be on their own.
Rajya Sabha MP V Hanumantha Rao pointed out that he had witnessed a welcome change in the people of the old city. "They have become wiser. They are now more interested in earning a square meal than fighting one another in the name of religion. That the situation did not turn serious shows that they want peace and communal harmony," he said.
Even Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil appreciated the change in the outlook of Hyderabadis. "By maintaining restraint they have exposed the communal elements. The people's resolve showed that those who want to create violence will never succeed," he said.