When Hindus Greeted Muslims On Eid

'I am determined now to celebrate all festivals together.'
'People don't respond much when you try to convince them by talking about principles of secularism etc. But if we revive our shared cultural practices, specially food, we may get a better response.'

It is just fitting perhaps that a masjid built by the son of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in honour of Aurangzeb's daughter was the site of an unusual, impromptu Hindu-Muslim meet on Ramzan Eid in Maharashtra, the state where the air has been poisoned by Chhaava, a film which depicts the conflict between Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and the Maratha ruler as a religious war.

Begum Masjid in Satara was built by Shahu Maharaj, Shivaji's grandson, as a symbol of gratitude. It is named after Zeenatunisa Begum who had looked after Shahu Maharaj's mother while his father, Sambhaji Maharaj, was held in captivity by Zeenatunisa's father Aurangzeb.

Chhaava was one of the reasons for the Nagpur riots on March 17, in which one Muslim died. Disturbed by the violence and its aftermath, which saw Hindus getting bail while Muslims didn't, Vijay Tambe, secretary of the Sewagram Ashram in neighbouring Wardha, decided to go beyond keyboard activism and actually do something to restore harmony.

His Facebook suggestion to colleagues in the Rashtriya Seva Dal, an organisation set up by Socialists in the Congress soon after Independence, that they visit the nearest mosque to offer flowers and greet Muslims on Eid, was what resulted in the Begum Masjid meet.

That wasn't the only such meet. Similar impromptu meetings inside mosques on Ramzan Eid last week took place in Wardha of course, but also in mosques in Dindoshi and Ghatkopar in Mumbai, all of them initiated by Rashtriya Seva Dal members.

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"Festivals should be celebrated in a joyous atmosphere, but this time, Muslims had to celebrate Eid amid insecurity and tension," Tambe told this correspondent. "I thought at least if I went to my neighbourhood mosque and wished Muslims there, I would be showing that I was with them in their festival, as good neighbours should be."

Tambe grew up in Girgaon, south Mumbai, a bastion of Marathi-speaking Brahmins. "Even there, my share of sheer korma on Eid was reserved for me by the owner of Voice of India, an Irani restaurant in the area," he recalled.

He later shifted to Mahim, north central Mumbai, where his Muslim landlord escorted his Hindu tenants to Mahim station during the 1992-1993 riots. "But those Hindus had never thought of calling him over for Diwali or even sharing their festive offerings with him," said Tambe.

Tambe had encountered a growing communalisation among youth in Maharashtra's villages. "When I ask them: How many of you are non-veg, a majority put up their hands. When I ask how many eat biryani in their Muslim friends' homes on Bakri Eid, again a majority say yes. But when I ask how many of them invite their Muslim friends over on Diwali, nobody puts up their hand. Shame on you, I tell them! You go to their homes to eat biryani, but can't even share your Diwali faraal (special snacks made on Diwali) with them. At the end of such visits, at least a few end up taking my advice."

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Goregaon resident and retired Akashwani programme executive Medha Kulkarni, deeply disturbed at the communal incidents in Maharashtra over the last three months, floated Tambe's idea among her group of friends, only to be met with a range of objections. Unable to convince them, she declared on her WhatsApp group that she was going ahead alone, and if anyone wanted to join her, they should come at 9 am to the Noorani Masjid in Pathanwadi, near her home.

Her challenge worked. A small group waited for the Muslims to emerge from the mosque after their Eid Namaz.

Sharad Kadam had a similar experience. This retired bank employee and former president of the Rashtriya Seva Dal in Mumbai, who lives in Bhatwadi, Ghatkopar, north east Mumbai, invited all his contacts, including members of all Opposition parties, to come to the Yasin Mistry Chawl Masjid in Chirag Nagar, Ghatkopar, on the morning of Eid. Just 5 turned up, not one of them from any party. Among those five was Shahaji Patodekar from the Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, founded by slain rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.

Be it in Satara or Wardha, Dindoshi or Ghatkopar, these small groups of Hindus, including the women, were welcomed into the mosque by the pleasantly surprised Muslims. Conversations ranged from reminiscing over what Satara was like in the olden days, to recalling how proud Muslims were of Maharashtra's tradition of communal harmony, to forming plans to carry such meetings forward. Most of the Hindus had never been inside a mosque.

In Satara, student Piyali Khanolkar, part of the group, had started walking away after the rest of the men entered the Begum Masjid, thinking she would not be allowed inside. But she was called back. So overwhelmed was she by the entire experience, that she offered a prayer inside the historical masjid, she wrote on Facebook.

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In Pune, the Rashtriya Seva Dal has been hosting Eid Milan programmes for the last four years, revealed Pramod Mujumdar, who is part of the organisation Salokha, which has been working on communal issues for long. They also celebrated an inter-faith Diwali last year. In Mumbai too, Rashtriya Seva Dal member Nisar Ali has hosted such programmes for a long time, both on both Hindu and Muslim festivals.

However, this year, the slow baiting of Muslims all through the month of Ramzan, in UP and Maharashtra, seems to have inspired a number of Hindus to display solidarity with Muslims. In Amroha, Hardoi, Prayagraj and Jaipur, all BJP-ruled cities, Hindu groups showered flowers on Muslims returning from Eid Namaz.

But what made the 'visit the nearest masjid' initiatives in Maharashtra unique was that individuals took it upon themselves to connect with Muslims they'd never met earlier.

Interestingly, there was one section in these progressive circles who objected to such programs -- atheists. "We don't visit temples, how can we visit mosques? Let's do this in a neutral space," was an objection heard across the board.

That battle is no longer relevant, felt Tambe. "I don't go to the temple to pray, but I must go to the masjid if my neighbour who prays there is insecure. The battle today is not between atheists and Hindu fundamentalists, but between true religiosity and fundamentalism," he said. "Progressives now must reclaim their religion."

Said Dr Vaishali Chavan of Satara, "I am determined now to celebrate all festivals together. People don't respond much when you try to convince them by talking about principles of secularism etc. But if we revive our shared cultural practices, specially food, we may get a better response."

Tambe now plans to hold an Eid Milan revolving around Hindi film songs based on harmony. "Earlier, a song like Allah Tero Naam, Ishwar Tero Naam was just one of many beautiful songs. Today, it's a revolutionary song, as is Tu Hindu Banega Na Musalman Banega," he says. Attendance in that programme will be conditional on bringing along one person from another faith.

Mujumdar however, feels that apart from showing solidarity on festivals -- which must be done anyway -- what is needed is to be there on the ground when Muslims are under attack, not just in riots, but also when the State mounts a slow attack on their places of worship and homes. "For that, we will need to do a lot of work among Hindus," he said.

As tension mounted in Goregaon on Ram Navmi, Medha Kulkarni agreed. "We should have been at the masjids today. We shouldn't go there only on festivals."

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com