Ghettoisation and religious segregation in housing continues in cities

Indian Express
April 03, 2008

Not allowed to sell her flat to a Muslim, Pune woman takes on entire ‘society’

by Sunanda Mehta


PUNE, APRIL 2: When Madhavi Kapoor decided to sell her 1500 sq ft apartment in Pune’s upmarket Boat Club Road area and move to a new house in Koregaon Park, she thought it would be a breeze because in an emerging metropolis, an apartment such as hers is sold in no time. But Kapoor, a former principal of the Rewachand Bhojwani Academy, was in for a shock when others in the building told her she had no right selling her apartment to a Muslim family.

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And because she had her way, Kapoor says she has been made to run around for the requisite paper work. Till date, the building society — Cozy Corner has 16 apartments, 14 occupied by Sindhis — hasn’t handed her a No Objection Certificate.

“It all started when I took the prospective buyers to the society meeting last month to introduce them to the other residents as has been the practice. Because the buyers’ surname was Hirani, members assumed they were Sindhis, like 80 per cent of others in the society building. But when the buyers introduced themselves and residents realised that they were Bohra Muslims, their faces fell. They openly said they had agreed to the sale because they thought they were Sindhis, that had they known they were Muslims, they would have never agreed,” said Kapoor , shocked by the behaviour of her neighbours. She recalled how the prospective buyers were so hurt that one of them even walked out of the meeting.

From the very next day, Kapoor said, society members began telling her not to sell the apartment to the Bohris. Some even sent word that there were others willing to pay Rs five lakh more for the apartment. “But I had given my word to these people. Anyway, after realising the reason for the opposition, it became a matter of principle,” she said. “Imagine such an attitude in this day and age. This is how we nurture hatred among communities and divide people.”

While the NOC has still not been given to her, Kapoor managed the No Dues certificate last week after several reminders. “Even there, they have put in a line saying that this document cannot be used for the sale or purchase of the apartment,” said Kapoor.

The two parties, however, went ahead and registered the sale of the apartment on March 31, taking advantage of the clause apartment on March 31, taking advantage of the clause which says that since the society in question is a condominium, the NOC is not needed for the transaction to take place.

The buyer’s family refused comment, only confirming that the deal had become somewhat controversial.

When contacted, Sanjay Ajwani, chairman of the society, admitted that members were opposing the sale to the buyers. But he gave a different reason, alleging that the prospective buyers had “behaved badly” at the introductory meeting which raised doubts about their “ability to fit in”.

Real estate consultant Srinivas Iyengar said such incidents were quite common now in the city with many societies openly trying to prevent Muslims from buying apartments in their colonies. “It’s unfortunate but they do that all the time,” he said.

As for Kapoor, she is planning to take up the issue with the Human Rights Commission. She said she would move court if the new owners of the apartment were harassed because of their religion.