Hindus in Muharram Rituals in Orissa

Dr. Mazhar Naqvi

Muslims constitute around 2 per cent of the total population of Indian province of Odisha(Formerly known as Orissa) yet participation of Hindus in Muharram ceremonies reflects the secular fabric. Demonstrating communal harmony, hundreds of Hindus join Muharram processions in Orissa every year as part of their centuries old tradition. They do so at various places with Sambalpur district putting up the most impressive performance as always. The Hindus mourn the martyrdom of Hazrat  Imam Hussain, grandson of Prophet Mohammed(PBUH) like Hussaini  Muslims.

In the western town of Sambalpur, Tazia (replica of the Imam Hussain’s shrine) is being taken out by a Hindu family for the past 310 years. The family of Lal Mohan Padhihary began Tazia procession when his ancestors undertook a pilgrimage to holy Mecca and Medina and got their wish fulfilled. Since then, procession has never been interrupted and family remains committed to carry on the tradition despite opposition from rightists who have been able to penetrate into the political scenario of the state in a big way of late.

Source IANS

'Tiger Dance' by Hindus In Karnataka Muharram

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Hindus of Nagashittikop village in Hubli district of Karnataka observes Muharram by making their dance as Tigers. Several children got themselves painted with red, black and bright yellow colour so as to be a part of the “Huli Kunita” tradition- basically a tiger dance observed as a part of Muharram ceremonies in the village with negligible presence of Muslims.

Every year Hindu families worship “Panja”( Representing the Holy Five i.e. Prophet Muhammad(PBUH),his daughter Bibi Fatima, His son-in-Law Hazrat Ali and grandchildren Imam Hasan and Hussain) for a week after sighting Muharram crescent).on Yaum-E-Ashura,10th day of Muharram, they carry ‘Panja’ in a procession and also walk on fire. Enroute Hindu families invite processionists with the relic and make offerings.

They also take vow before Panja and promise to make offerings if their wish is fulfilled. They have no idea as to how and when their participation began in Muharram ceremonies but say with certainty that it must have been started centuries ago. Like Janmashtmi and other Hindu festivals, Tiger dance teams painted with yellow strips also become visible during Muharram. It is believed that teams don’t mind spending lakhs of rupees  on costumes only.

Tiger dance is quite popular in coastal areas of Karnataka. It is believed to have originated in Udupi District and has penetrated into Mangalore,Kundapur,Moodabidri and parts of Tamilnadu  as well. People throng in large number to wartch Tiger Dance.(Source:ANI/Wikipedia/Photo Courtesy Google Images)

Hindu Azadar from Hyderabad

Hindu Family with Tazia in Hyderabad

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

The family of M.Rajesh is symbol of inter-faith understanding following its active participation in Muharram ceremonies in Hyderabad. For the last 54 years, the family has been observing Muharram, passing from one generation to the other as a tradition, by inviting devotees across all religions and faiths at the Syed Sayajalal Chand-saab Baba Ashoorkhana at Trimulgherry.

It all started when one of their children at the age of seven in the year 1962 has fallen sick and the family firmly believes that he got cured after the child was made to walk on fire during Muharram.

 

M. Rajesh, 40 years, one of the family members, whose parents were both Hindu, traced back the birth of the tradition reveals that his mother had told him in his childhood that when his brother  M. Paramanand Lal, who was then seven, got very sick and would not eat or drink anything. One of our acquaintances told us about the Muhar-ram procession, and suggested to make our brother walk on the fire(Aag Ka Matam).His  mother took the brother there and helped him walk. She prayed that she would observe Muharram each year if he gets cured.

The invocation resulted in the recovery of the child and since then the family has been faithfully acknowledging with gratitude Hazrat Imam Hussain’s mercy on the child who was severely ill and got cured after walking on fire.

Source : Deccan Chronicle September 11,2019.Photo Courtesy Google Images)

Hindu Taziadars of Guna in Madhya Pradesh

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Guna district of Madhya Pradesh province in India is without sizable Muslim population. Yet Muharram is observed with all solemnity and active participation of Hindus. There are as many as 15 Hindu families which keep Tazias as a mark of fulfillment of their vows. The oldest Tazia belongs to Kishan Lal’s family. It was kept over 50 years ago. Kishan  Lal  was longing for a son after he was blessed by seven daughters. He vowed to keep Tazia if blessed by a son. Fortunately, he got his wish fulfilled.

Next year he kept his promise and kept a Tazia on 9^th night of Muharram known as Qatl Ki Raat or Shabe Ashur about five decades ago. Since then, the family has kept the tradition alive. In place of Kishan Lal, his son Ram Babu Haldia is continuing the tradition. He works as a hoe guard and willing to do so till his last breath. He considers himself as a gift of Imam Hussain and does not lend ears to those discouraging him from Taziadari.

Guna is better known as political citadel of Congress leader Jyotimarya Scindia,son of  ex-ruler of Gwalior and Congress parliamentarian Madhavrao Scindia who had died in a plane crash. Scindia rulers during their heydays patronized Muharram ceremonies throughout their kingdom.In Gwalior, Tazia is taken out from the royal family.

Under the influence of Scindia rulers, despite having low Muslim population, Muharram is observed with enthusiasm and solemnity till the present era in various parts of Bundelkhand region.  

(Based on Newspaper reports and personal observation.Photo Courtesy Google Images Viva Video)      

Hindus Equates Yazid with Ravana and lanka In Karnataka

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

How the fusion of cultures penetrates deep into the minds of people and become a tradition is best exemplified by the participation of Hindus in Muharram ceremonies in pockets of North Karnataka?For instance, in Ayanur village of Ballari district, Karbala is remodeled as Lanka. Yazid is Ravana and his effigies are burnt. In Ramdurg, Hazrat Imam Hussain is the younger brother of the village deity, Durugavva. During the immersion procession, Tazia (replica of his shrine in Iraq) stops in front of the Durugavva temple to talk to his sister who is known as Hazrat Zainab in Azadar world and considered as messenger of Karbala. In Agasanur, villagers don’t wear slippers or sleep in beds for 10 days. On Ashura, villagers, they wear white dresses and go to the house of the Jangama priest (a Lingayat) and invite him to the dargah. There, he transfers the Peers(Spiritual leaders) and Alams (standards) to Muslims.

The village of Bilagi in Bagalkot district lights up on the night of Ashura with a cart that carries burning torches in a procession. Appanna Jadhav, a Maratha, has been carrying the doli or palanquin for over four decades.

In Kalaburagi, the story of Imam’s martyrdom and his companions is intermingled with that of Pundalika, a local youth who suffered as he neglected his old parents. In Harooru near Chikkodi, Yazid is a local moneylender who harasses farmers. In Mugalkhod in Belagavi, Hazrat Ali, the patron saint of the Garadi Mane (wrestling school), is the younger brother of Hanuman. Images of Hanuman and a tiger symbolizing Imam Ali are seen in several villages in the Mumbai-Karnataka region.

Tragedy of Karbala has also touched Karnataka’s folk literature. Muharram songs  are plenty in folk literature. The story of the Prophet’s family(Ahlebait-E-Athaar) and the Battle of Karbala continue to dominate these songs, but their striking feature is the inclusion of many local elements. The ballads speak of contemporary issues. The singers have infused their present-day pains into the historical tragedy. They speak as if the Karbala martyrs were born in their own village.

In one village, welfare programs such as widow pension found place in Muharram mourning. In Humnabad, Dr. Ambedkar and the lord Buddha featured once in Muharram folksongs. A singer in Kalaburagi recalled the death of 20 villagers in a road mishap. A singer in Bagalkot talked about farmers who lost lands in the Upper Krishna irrigation project in Muharram 2019.

Whereas Hindus continue to participate in large number in Muharram ceremonies as usual, it is the Muslims who are drifting away on the ground what they perceive as a corruption of the original practice. In Bidar, educated youths because of a puritan view of Muharram taken by some schools like Wahhabi, Tablighi Jamat Jamat and Ahle- Hadees.

Muharram in north Karnataka has had its share of controversies as well. In some villages in Kalaburagi, it was stopped when Dalit boys refused to play the drums in Muharram processions or clean Imam Bargahs if boys from other castes did not join them. In some villages, the rise of the right wing has reduced the participation of upper-caste Hindus. Yet Muharram remains a shining example of inter-faith understanding, an observance with sense of harmony and strong participation from Hindus in many villages where not a single Muslims resides.

Source: Based on inputs fro newspaper reports, views of the scholars expressed from Hampi University and Islamic scholars from Bidar. Photo Courtesy Google Images)

Bibi Ka Alam and Hindu Participation

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

‘Bibi Ka Alam’ is not only the most famous Muharram procession in Hyderabad but occupies a special place of reverence among the admirers of Hazrat Imam Hussain all over the world in view of its association with lady of paradise Hazrat Fatima Zahra(SA).Besides containing a piece of the wooden plank used for giving bath to her blessed body before burial, another feature of Alam (standard) procession is the active participation of Hindus.

Taken out from Bibi Ka Alawa (Imambargah) in Dabeerpura locality of Hyderabad, Hindus attend the procession as Alambardaar(Standard bearer).They throng in thousands to worship the holy relic of Alam since it is believed that a darshan of the Alam give them solace and peace of mind. On Yaum E Ashurta,10th day of Muharram, Hindus visit the shrine and call the occasion as  Peerla Panduga. They respect the sentiments of sorrow of their Muslim brethren  in the solemn procession.

The caretakers of Bibi-ka-Alawa reveal that people from the Yadava community participate in the procession at Yakutpura.They carry wooden sticks with chains strapped to them and chant ‘Ya Hussain’ while making offerings. Some traditions are started by members of certain families. A silk umbrella, presented to the holy relic during the Nizam’s rule , is borne by a man named Narender Goud, whose family has carrying it for centuries. The Mahi Maratib( Royal Insignia), is held atop a camel by Rajendra Das. His father used to do so previously. Thousands of Hindus visit the Bibi-ka-Alawa during the first ten days of Muharram to make offerings. 

They also gather along the procession route to catch a glimpse of it. People from villages come to the city and make offerings to the Alam if their wishes are fulfilled. Some Hindus also distribute free drinking water and soft drinks in the stretch from Gulzar Houz to Panjeshah.Bibi Ka Alam is carried out on a she Elephant and Chief Minister, Police top brass and other prominent citizens make it a point to attend it. Mir Osman Ali Khan had offered priceless gems as offerings to Alam. The relic remains under the protection of CISF round the clock. (Source:Books on the History of  Hyderabad.Photo Courtesy Google Images) 

Muharram in Birethplace of Sita in Nepal

Daha of Janakpur in Nepal

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Janakpur, the birth place of God Shri Ram Chandra’s wife Sita,in Nepal witnesses observance of Muharram by local Hindus every year with a difference. Instead of Taziya, the local Hindus call it as Daha. Local historians attribute the participation of Hindus in Muharram procession to the influence of Sufism in the region. It was Sufis who apprised the Hindus about the message of Hazrat Imam Hussain as a symbol of the eternal conflict between forces of virtue and evil.

On the tenth day of Muharram, the Tazia, also called Daha in the vicinity of Janakpur, is taken around town in procession with mourners beating their chests and shouting 'Ha Hussain, Ho Hussain' with Hindu volunteers managing the crowd. In the evening, the Daha is buried. Just as Muslims participate enthusiastically in Holi, Hindus share the pangs of the Muharram commemorations. 
Like Muslims, Hindu boys also tie the string of bells around their waist and tinkle wildly whenever they  jump to the wails for Imam Hussain. Muharram was marked with traditional fervour in 2019 too. The VDC contributed Rs 10,000 to the kitty and Hindu volunteers offered eatables to the devotees  poured in from surrounding villages.
Muharram has also been used as an occasion beyond traditional practices and became an occasion for political mobilization in the recent past. Muslims are angry at the way the police and administration have behaved in Janakpur and they are with the majority Hindus in demanding their rightful place in Nepal's polity.

Janakpur's Muslims came with the Maharani of Tikamgarh to build the Janaki temple. Many of these rajmistris, or royal masons, settled down behind the building they had constructed. As Janakpur has become a magnet for rural migrants, land prices have shot through the roof. While most of the original settlers around the temple have sold their property and moved out to cheaper locations nearby, some still remain. They were the targets of police atrocities last week.

Muslims are a significant minority in Nepal, and comprise between four (say census figures) and eight (say community leaders) percent of the population. They live in almost every Tarai district, and Nepal has more Muslims than some of the smaller west Asian sultanates such as Bahrain (586,000) or Qatar (885,000). A 'New Nepal' can't be built without including them in nation-building.
Forward-looking states promote national solidarity and harmony between diverse groups by establishing impartial institutions, constructing a shared history, collective memory, and common heroes. Sometimes camaraderie developed in the trenches helps cement bonds. But nothing builds a sense of citizenship as effectively as participation in a freedom struggle.

Hindu mythical agents of virtue always win and truth prevails. In Islamic traditions, victory is known only on Judgement Day, each struggle is important. Hence, Muharram message is an integral part of Nepali culture.

(Source: Mades Times. Picture Courtesy Google Images)