Hindus Set Example in Muharram-2019

Hindus Beating Drums in Tazia Procession in Sunur

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

A sleepy village of Bengal presented an example of inter-faith understanding during Muharram-2019, thanks to goodwill gesture of the Hindus. The incident took place in Sunur village where the Hindus beat drums when their Muslim counterparts failed to turn up to do drumming for Tazia. The Hindus took the initiative on their own out of reverence from Imam Hussain at a time when administrators were losing sleep to pre-empt trouble between communities by demarcating separate routes for Durga immersion and Muharram processions and planning elaborate police deployments throughout the state.  Located about 125 km from Kolkata, drummers of a local Durga Puja decided to beat the drums for a Muharram procession, when those hired for the Tazia procession did not show up and all efforts to trace them failed.

The Hindus noticed that Tazia processing was passing in front of Durga Puja Pandal without drummers and they immediately offered the services of their drummers for the procession.Sunur is a small village where most of the residents are dependent on agriculture for a living.The village has about 800 inhabitants, and most are Hindus. However, some of the surrounding villages are dominated by Muslims.

As a part of their custom, several Hindu women observe fast till the Muharram procession passes through. The women also offer Puja when the processions are held and break their fast only after the ritual is over. However, the Hindus never drummed in the Tazia procession and did so for the first time as a goodwill gesture.

According to Dilip  Ganguly, secretary of the Sunur Ghugia Sarbajanin Durga Puja Committee Sunur was symbol of harmony and its residents always celebrated the festivals together be it Durga Puja, Deewali, Holi, Eid or Muharram.. The women folk of Hindu households also observe a fast on Muharram till they offer Puja after the procession. He feels that there is nothing wrong for us to beat drums for Tazia processions and if needed, Hindus will do again in future. He clarified that the villagers have nothing to do with petty politics centering religion. Every year Muslims participate in the Durga Puja and also raise subscriptions for the festivities.( Reference and Photo Courtesy: Hindustan Times)