Ahmedabad:
Ten years ago, six coaches of the Sabarmati Express were attacked at Signal Falia near the Godhra railway station in Gujarat, sparking one of the worst communal riots in the country's history. Manjulabehn was among 58 people killed, many of them women and children.
Manjulabehn's husband, Kiritbhai Patel, a farmer reminisces, "I did not want her to go but she insisted because it was for a religious purpose... I got a phone call after it happened. It would be two days before someone told me the horrifying details." Manjulabehn had gone to Ayodhya to participate in kar seva along with four other women of the village. They were returning home when the train was attacked. All five died. Most of those killed in the train burning incident of February 28, 2001, were kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya. In the riots that followed all over Gujarat, 1200 people were killed.
There is high security in Godhra today. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) plans a remembrance meet for those killed in Godhra train attack; it had sought permission for a longer route to hold this year's rally, but that request has been denied by the district administration. VHP international general secretary Praveen Togadia will lead the rally to the burnt S-6 Coach now kept at the Godhra railway yard, to pay homage to those killed in the incident.
At the Gulbarg society in Ahmedabad, a meeting is planned to remember the 69 people who died that same evening when a rioting mob attacked the housing society. Among those killed in the Gulbarg massacre was former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, whose wife Zakiya has waged a tireless legal battle for justice.
All over the state, many peace rallies, sufi sangeet meets, exhibitions, poetry recitation, dialogues with the victims and prayers have been planned by different organisations. Verses from the holy Quran will be read at the Gulbarga society.