Indians stand united, don’t allow Hate to prevail over Harmony

Amidst the instances of hate speech, outbreaks of violence and bulldozer injustice, let us take a look at the efforts of ordinary citizens who helped preserve harmony

harmony

The last week’s coverage of bulldozer injustice by several media houses has been about the growing communal divide and the outbreak of violence, as well as the marginalisation of the Muslim minority in particular. While it is necessary to report the news of the day, one must also not lose sight of instances that rekindle hope of peaceful coexistence.

Here’s a look at some such inspiring stories of peace and harmony between different sections of society after Friday protests.

Police and people exchange roses

A heartwarming example of symbolic rejection of violence was most recently seen in Lucknow near the Tilewali Masjid. On June 17, 2022 police forces across Uttar Pradesh were on high alert, unwilling to allow a repeat of the June 3 and June 10 protests. While Ghaziabad police deployed around 5,000 personnel, Lucknow police approached things differently by distributing roses to namazis.

Devotees who headed to the masjid in the afternoon were pleasantly surprised to see the police handing out flowers as a sign of peace.

 

 

To mirror the goodwill, the devotees too gave flowers to the officers after namaz. The police administration pleasantly surprised can be seen conversing with people.

 

 

The idea of using flowers as a symbol of non-violent protest was first proposed by poet Allen Ginsberg in his essay ‘How to Make a March/Spectacle.’ The idea was that protesters should be provided with ‘masses of flowers’ to give to policemen, the press, politicians, and spread love and compassion in the faces of hatred and violence.

Pulwama Muslims keep old promises

On June 12, while the rest of India watched horrified as Allahabad activist Javed Mohammad’s house was illegally demolished, Pulwama’s Muslims continued to protect the local Shiva temple. A resident tweeted, “In the middle of polarisation and hate mongering towards Muslims and killing of minorities in valley the message of harmony comes from my native district Pulwama. A centuries old temple in Payer is maintained by Muslims with pride of being care takers of coexistence.”

 

 

This is the same temple at Achan village that Hindus and Muslims restored together in 2019. The restoration was done days after the February 14 attack on CRPF men, 15 km away from the village.

Speaking to The Tribune, Auqaf Committee Chairperson Nazir Mir said the people wanted to send a message of peace and communal harmony, when people are engaged in warmongering on electronic and social media. The Committee was approached by local Pandits for the renovation and maintenance, which the Muslims have continued till date.

“We want to convey that Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits live here together like before,” Mir told The Tribune.

Calls for peace

A day after the protest, there were reports of violence. Media houses condemned the stone-pelting in Allahabad, Ranchi and other cities. Similarly, progressive groups of the Muslim community too launched into action from June 11 when a Muslim cleric in Bengal called for peace and communal harmony.

Stressing that India is the motherland of people across religion, he appealed to people to remain peaceful.

 

 

This call for peace was again repeated by the Haq Hai Foundation in Mumbai’s Mira-Bhayandar on June 15. Women and youths came together for a silent protest asking the community not to fall victim to the right-elements and its politics.

These stories have largely gone unnoticed in the face of calls for demolitions, challenges in courts and comments from the Supreme Court. In the larger scheme of things, the incidents may not seem impressive but taken collectively highlight how Indian citizens are keen to maintain peace in their land.

 

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