The Hindu : National : Building `Ram-Rahim' bridges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 28, 2004

National

National

Building `Ram-Rahim' bridges

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD, NOV. 27. Perhaps for the first time since the 2002 riots, a serious attempt was made to bring the two communities together on a peace mission here and that too in the Juhapura locality, a predominantly Muslim one.

Among the organisers of the peace mission was a professor of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, J. S. Bandukwala, himself a riot victim. He was helped by some 30 local NGOs, including the Vejalpur municipality, the Lions Club, some women's organisations and others.

Taking advantage of "Dev Deepavali" (the first full-moon night after Diwali) and Guru Nanak Jayanti falling on the same day, with Eid being celebrated recently, the organisers brought together religious leaders of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs to address the mixed audience on the tenets of humanity, compassion and togetherness underlined in each religion.

Rapt attention

The star attraction was the well-known "Ram Kathakar," Morari Bapu, who has held countless devotees captive for hours telling stories from the Ramayana. But last night, he was cheered not only by Hindus, but also Muslim listeners. They heard him in rapt attention talking about building "Ram-Rahim bridges" between the two communities. Among other speakers were Jammat-e-Islam-e-Hind (Gujarat) president, Mohammad Shafi Madni and Sikh priest Ratan Singhji Ratan Granthi, of Gurudwara Govind Dham.

Mr. Bandukwala said the idea crystallised about two months ago when he received a call from Morari Bapu in response to one of his articles in which he had criticised all political and religious leaders for having failed to initiate efforts for harmony but appreciated Mr. Bapu's efforts in this direction. "Some of his devotees must have brought this to Bapu's attention and he called me to take him to some Muslim localities for a fresh unity bid," he said.

Right message

But he said making such arrangements in Vadodara would serve only a limited purpose. Ahmedabad's Juhapura, having a large Muslim population adjacent to the Hindu-dominated Vejalpur locality could send a right message.

Mr. Bandukwala took the help of some local Muslim leaders and the NGOs to arrange the function at the `border' of Juhapura and Vejalpur in a local school ground. "I was very jittery, I was not sure how the people would receive it. Besides there also were some security problems, the fear of some Hindu protagonist organisations trying to disrupt the show. But thankfully everything went off peacefully and with tremendous success," he said.

While addressing the gathering, Mr. Bapu decried Juhapura being called a `mini-Pakistan' and the area as a `border' between the two communities. "Let us build bridges across the border. Let us gather the stones thrown to each other during the riots and write Ram and Rahim on them to construct the bridge," he said amidst loud cheers. He also chided political and religious leaders for increasing the gulf between the two communities for selfish ends.

The meeting went well past midnight — much beyond the scheduled time. "At the end of the speeches, we could see people of the two communities, till recently sworn enemies, embracing each other and exchanging pleasantries," Mr. Bandukwala said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National