Parmar said that he and other residents keep a 24 hour vigil during disturbances in Ahmedabad or elsewhere, toprevent any mischief by `outsiders.' ``I am residing here since 1968 and have never witnessed any curfew. For us, Ram-Rahim Nagar is a riot-immune place. All the 30 bylanes here retain their peace. We have a dozen temples and four mosques but not one incident of desecration of these religious places has been noticed so far,'' he added.

Pyarali Kapadia, Vice-President of the Mandal, said that communal riots are the brainchild of political leaders for their own gains. Otherwise Hindus and Muslims have been living together for centuries.

Kapadia, who retired as assistant post-master of the Ahmedabad General Post Office, has been living in the nagar for the last 27 years. He says that politicians visit the slum only during elections and not when riots take place.

Ahmedabad is a city with sharply delineated communal passions where the Shahpur and Karanj police station areas are still under night curfew. In the midst of this the labour dominated Ram-Rahim Nagar stands out for its communal amity.