Shams Ur Rehman Alavi
A large number of Muslims welcomed the Vijayadashami procession in Mandideep, the satellite township near Bhopal.
At two different places, Muslims welcomed the Hindu community members who participated in the procession.
They garlanded the Hindu brethren, welcomed them, threw rose petals at the procession and also shared sweets.
But this is not the first such instance. It has been a tradition in Mandideep.
For, at least, thirty years, local Muslims have been garlanding and welcoming the procession in the 'Vijayadashami Juloos', mentions journalist Ateek Ahmad. In fact, such gestures go a long way towards strengthening bonds among communities at the local level.
At the Station Road, lot of Muslims led by Iqbal Ali and Salman Bhai welcomed the procession and garlanded the people. Later, Akhtar Ali, Ramzan Khan and many others too felicitated the prominent members of the Hindu community including the priests.
These traditions over a period of few yrs become strong and people start taking pride in 'our city's tradition', helps solve law-and-order issues too. Those doing it get respect, recognition too. In Bhopal too, Hindus and Muslims have welcomed each others' procession, historically.
[Harmony exists all around us but is often ignored. Instead, stories of hate, discord and communalism get spread easily.
There are a million examples in our daily lives across India but they don't get promoted, hence, news of hate and discord gets heard more. Let's change it, now. This is a small attempt to change it through Communal Harmony Project]
For reading similar reports on this blog, Click the link HERE and also find out more about Communal Harmony Project]
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[Photo courtesy: Nai Dunia newspaper]