In the last few days the Nilasandra area in Bangalore has gained infamy across India as  it came up as the name touted over and over again as the most sensitive area in Bangalore and the one which featured in most  rumours about potential attacks against members of the north east community.

In a remarkable show of camaraderie and generosity the Muslim community called for an iftar party in the Akbari Masjid in Nilasandra and dozens of members of the north east community were invited along with members of the state administration. Over a thousand Muslims from Nilasandra, Anepalaya and Austin Town collectively vowed to safeguard the north east community living in Nilasandra.

In a touching speech one of the officials of the Akbari masjid Sadr Saab said that it was unfortunate that Nilasandra had shot to fame in this manner, and that residents of Nilasandra wanted to prove the world wrong by ensuring that there would be no violence of any kind in the days to come. A seventy year old man belonging to the Gurkha community similarly stated that he had lived for a long part of his life in Nilasandra and had never encountered anything unpleasant so far and did not expect to  in the future either.

There have also been similar exercises in trust building that have taken place in other parts of the city and lets hope that these gestures of friendship will contribute towards lessening the atmosphere of distrust and fear that currently exists.