And the remnants of the riots are still found buried in whatever little of the past has remained. But sadly, any attempt to heal this scar has only met with further brutality (often backed by systemic support).

Any attempt to reclaim any site that even legally belongs to Hindus has been met with violence, disruption and even government intervention supporting the disrupters. The latest in the tainted history of this town is an attempt to stop the temple refurbishing efforts taking place in Cheriyamundam town of Malappuram.

Efforts by the local Hindu community of Cheriyamundam to rebuild a broken and destroyed ancient temple that had been worshiped by them for over a century has to battle odds uncalled for. First, a truckload of stones lands on the path to the temple blocking the way. Then the priest who was conducting the rituals at the site is attacked. And the latest is an order by the gram panchayat ordering the demolition of the temple as it “violates the grama panchayat act”.

Malappuram is the only Muslim majority area of Kerala. According to the 2011 census, Muslims constitute 70.24 per cent of the population of Malappuram while Hindus are at 27.60 per cent. But in Cheriyamundam town, the numbers are at 87.99 (Muslim) and 11.83 per cent (Hindus).