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India's religious groups have so often clashed, with recent years marred
by violence. But a remarkable gesture has helped foster a rare harmony
in one village.
As mason Nazim "Raja" Khan toiled over the construction of a Shiva
temple in a Punjab village, a thought nagged at him.
There he was, a Muslim, building a Hindu temple. Yet there was no mosque
nearby where he could worship.
"We had no place where we could offer namaz (prayers)," says the
40-year-old. "It wasn't nice for our relatives when they visited."
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It rankled, so he raised it with the 400-strong Muslim community in his
village of Moom, in rural north India. But they were too poor to afford
the land.
'Would you give us some land?'
Most Muslims in the area do unskilled jobs, such as casual construction
work, while the community's 400 or so Hindus and some 4,000 Sikhs are
relatively well-off.
Fast forward 18 months - with the temple nearing completion - and Raja
took an unprecedented step.
Earlier this year, he approached the temple administrators and told
them: "You Hindus will soon have your new temple. And you already have
an older one. But we Muslims have no place to worship, nor money to buy
land. Would you give us a small area of your land?"
A week later, he had an answer. The temple management had decided to
hand over nearly 900 sq ft (83 sq m) of vacant land next to their
temple.
"I was ecstatic," says Raja. "I just couldn't find the words to express
my gratitude."
Purshottam Lal, an ayurvedic medicine practitioner who sits on the
temple management panel, explains: "It was a very genuine demand. It was
unfair that while we all share our joys and sorrows together, [the
Muslims] didn't have a mosque."
Two months on, Raja and a few other masons and labourers are happily
building a place where Muslims can worship.
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The Sikh community is contributing funds for the mosque, which shares
its wall with their gurdwara, making for a rare example of communal
harmony between the three religions in a land where minorities often
complain about victimisation.
Limitations
In recent times, human rights groups have criticised the rise of what
they see as an ultra-right Hindu nationalist government. Many say it has
created an atmosphere of fear and mistrust between Hindus and Muslims.
However, in Moom, it seems the three communities live in a congenial
atmosphere. There's no history of tension between them and people of all
communities freely visit any place of worship.
Most Hindus go to gurdwaras and some of them wear the turbans usually
worn by Sikhs. They also visit homes of the other communities to attend
their rituals and functions.
Gurdwara priest Giani Surjeet Singh says most functions - such as the
Hindu holy recitation, geeta path - are held in the Sikh hall.
"People don't see this place just as a gurdwara but also that of a
get-together point for their social functions," he adds.
Bharat Ram, a teacher who's active in temple affairs, says: "We're
fortunate we haven't had political leaders who could polarise us or
create the divide between communities.
"There is a brotherhood among people in this village that we have had
since ancient times, and it meant we quickly decided to give land for
the mosque."
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The people of Pakistan and India would harbour no grudge with one
another, were it not for politicians, he argues.
No one seems resentful of the donations of land or funds. Indeed, many
Hindus and Sikhs believe the mosque won't just be for Muslims. "It's for
all villagers," they say.
Yet, integration has its limitations. Ask them if they would like to see
their sons and daughters marry into the other communities and the
response is of shock.
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"Look, brotherhood is one thing. Sikhs and Muslims are different
religions," says Sikh panchayat (village council) member Chood Singh.
"Such a thing can't be accepted in our village."
Bharat Sharma, a teacher and office bearer in the Hindu temple agrees:
"This has neither happened in the past nor can it happen in the future."
This is a common opinion in India, where even marriage between different
castes within the Hindu religion can provoke strong family opposition.
But compared with other parts of India, such as West Bengal where
communal tensions are high, this village in Punjab appears like
paradise.
"God is everywhere - be it a gurdwara, a mosque or a temple," says Mr
Sharma.
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