Modi and Juhapura: Fixing the lie
I’ve read often in social media conversations that the development in Gujarat is not inclusive and the most frequently quoted example of this is Juhapura. People have told me and others on Twitter often to “Go and have a look at the plight of Muslims in Juhapura before you say a thing about the so-called development in Gujarat.”
Recently when a municipal school was opened in Juhapura, there were many valid questions also about what took them so long. The last time I had this conversation with another twitter mate @BrownBrumby, this came up again and I said to him (and myself) that I could use the time while I’m in Ahmedabad to at least drive through the area and see what it looks like. I have no journalistic credentials or experience and no ‘Press’ marked vehicle, so I thought I’d look pretty conspicuous walking around with a camera bag and taking pictures. I decided to just take the car and drive around the area and take snapshots with a wide lens.
The signboard reads “Sare jahan se achha Hindustan hamara. Juhapura cordially welcomes you”. Did you notice the signboard has chipping paint and bent legs? Tcha! #BlowToModi
This is the four-lane road that passes through Juhapura. The white device you see at the bottom left corner of the photo is a geo-tagging device. This is so I can tag geographical locations on all the photos (in case someone thinks these pictures were taken somewhere else and wrongly marked as being from Juhapura).
Just driving through looking at the buildings around the place.
More poor neighborhoods (NOT) of Juhapura.
A community hall, a cheap hotel, a dental clinic, and a bit of crowd.
A physiotherapy clinic, a children’s hospital and a cyber cafe along the poor dwellings that are obviously sustaining tough living conditions (look at those balconies).
Another physiotherapy clinic, a tuition institute and a few shops.
Hey, there’s a school in Juhapura. Can you believe it? Also, they’re teaching in English and Gujarati medium, not Urdu!
The Green Gym in the ‘Green Plaza’. You can enjoy Faluda and Bhajiya on your way out after the workout.