One month after the blast at the Gateway of India in south Mumbai, some people gathered at the spot for a prayer meeting in memory of the innocents who lost their lives and to commiserate with those injured in the incident.
They were carrying banners which said: Terrorist Are Killers They Have No Religion, Hang All Terrorists, Hindu-Muslim bhai bhai atankwadiyo ki karo pitai (Hindus and Muslims are brothers, punish terrorists).
The approximately 50-member crowd, comprising mostly burkha-clad Muslim women, lit candles and maintained a few minutes' silence a little after 1 pm, when the blast occurred.
The meeting was organised by the women's wing of the Muslim Council of India, which undertakes social work. General secretary Ruksana Qureshi said, "What was happened over here a month ago was wrong. We are praying for the victims and their families. We want to show terrorists that no one is with them, either Hindus or Muslims, and we support the government's efforts to kill all terrorists, whatever religion they belong to."
"We decided to offer joint prayers here to show to the world that terrorism has no religion, it kills members of any community. We are happy that those responsible for the two blasts have been arrested and we demand that they be subjected to the most stringent punishment."
She said no one would support people carrying out terrorist activities in the name of Gujarat.
MCI president Ibrahim Tai said, "If something happens in Gujarat, why should people target Mumbai? What wrong has this city done? If they are angry with events in Gujarat, fight for justice over there and bring the culprits to book."
He said that the MCI wanted to keep the event low-key as publicity tends to attract a political touch to such gatherings, which would not be in keeping with the spirit of the occasion. But at the same time, the MCI welcomes the participation of the common people.
At Zaveri Bazaar (Kalbadevi), where the second blast occurred, Bharatiya Janata Party activists had organized a yagna in memory of the victims.
With inputs from PTI
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