It is our firm belief that no matter how many generations of a country stay engaged in religious, cultural or spiritual wars; humanity never perishes.

In the light of the strife and continued hate following the Ayodhya land dispute verdict last week, the Muslims, who received the short end of the stick in the matter, rose above enmity and hatred to help Sikhs celebrate the 550^th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

Even though they have been singled out time and again by the proponents of a Hindu Rashtra and have been subject to slander for decades, they have chosen not to resort to provocation and instead opt for kindness, compassion and fraternity

In Ambala, Muslim brothers closed their shops to help with a nagar kirtan and arranged for a holy feast called langar.

Amabla is not the only place where Muslims celebrated with the Sikhs. Even in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, the Muslim society gave a grand welcome to Sikhs on the occasion of Prakash Parv.

In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, the Muslim community helped kick-start the celebrations by cleaning the roads for the yatra. They also arranged for refreshments for Sikh devotees.

In Pakistan, Indian families celebrated Guru Nanak Jayanti at Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara in Pakistan, after the setting up of the Kartarpur corridor by the Pakistan government in a show of solidarity towards Indian devotees.

In Sindh, Pakistan, many Muslim families of Nankana Sahib participated in a nagar kirtan and accompanied their Sikh fellows to Wagah border in their vehicles on Thursday.

In Harda, Madhya Pradesh too, the Muslim community set a beautiful example of communal unity. A few days before the Prakash Parv, children of the Sikh community visited madrasas to celebrate the festival of Eid Milad-un Nabi with the children of the Muslim community. The leaders of both religious spoke of moral education and described humanity to be the most important part of life.

Guru Nanak, who spoke of brotherhood, equality and tolerance is said to be “Guru Nanak Shah Fakir /Hindu ka Guru, /Mussalman ka pir.”

The Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib includes teachings from Muslims, namely saints (Baba Farid), a Muslim of the Chishti Sufi order and Kabir.

These are just a few examples that document the large-heartedness of the Muslims. Muslims in India, have been demonised through the centuries. It is now up to us to reject the conventional conditioning we have been put through by fascist, hate mongering groups and see the Muslims as one of us.

Related:

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Temple Vandalism case: Hindus and Muslims come together, serve food to Shobha Yatra participants

In a Heartwarming Gesture, Hindu Family Donates Land for Muslim Burial Ground in Assam

The post Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb: Muslims help with Guru Nanak Jayanti celebrations appeared first on SabrangIndia.

There are similar stories of Sikhs in Ludhiana building a mosque for the two Muslim families who lived in their village Sawarpur and of them sitting down with the families to break Ramzan fast, Sikh and Muslim residents coming together to renovate a Mosque in Malla village, and Sikhs in another village donating land to build a Mosque.

Ludhiana is Punjab’s largest city and is one of the best cities to do business in.I lived in Ludhiana for 15 years and I grew up with a complete sense of communal harmony all around. The people of Ludhiana are hardworking, creative, resilient, and they cherish their brotherhood. As an artist, I have witnessed the rich culture which is an amalgamation of Sufism, shayari, ghazals, Punjabi poetry, folk songs and dances.

The city has been witnessing a folk revival in the past year with initiatives like Jeevay Punjabwhich provides a platform to folk performers keeping away from political and religious differences. Founded by Kumar Saurabh, Inderpreet Singh, and Harnoor Singh, Jeevay Punjab promotes quality poetry and music in an eclectic manner. When Sabrang India talked to Kumar Saurabh about the inclusivity of their platform, he commented, “When we talk about Jeevay Punjab, we are referring to the ‘entire’ Punjab and its art forms, be it in India or Pakistan. Majority of our viewers on YouTube are Pakistani Punjabis. Our platform started in Ludhiana with small audiences and now we’re doing shows that accommodate 700-800 audience in cities like Chandigarh and Delhi, besides Ludhiana. We have always made a conscious effort to showcase artists from all communities. Some of our Muslim artists are most beloved by the audiences which is also composed of people from all religions. One of the artists, Adil Khan from the Patiala Gharana, plays the sarangi beautifully.UstadJohar Ali Khan, the famous violinist, has also performed for us and lent his support. We promote the celebrated artists along with the young budding talent from the Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu communities. This is how communal harmony grows in the culture, through art.”

To truly illustrate the beauty and harmony of Ludhiana, Sabrang India spoke to young residents from the city about stories from their daily lives. Nusrat* was born in a village near Jammu and came to Ludhiana a year ago to pursue higher studies. She told us the story of her first day at college, “I was nervous as I didn’t know how my classmates and teachers would react to my Hijab. Just as I entered class, I spotted a Sikh girl wearing a Turban and dupatta on her head. I immediately went and sat next to her. I have formed such a nice friendship with her. I am happy to see that as different as our religions are, we are both strong and pious girls wearing our religious clothing by our choice.” She also narrated a recent incident that moved her to tears, “After the Article 370 abrogation, I lost touch with my family for many days. I was sitting in canteen with red eyes. Two senior boys I hadn’t even talked to, came to me, gave me a chocolate and told me it’s my Rakhi gift. They saidthey are my big brothers and I should not cry,everything will be okay. At such a time when I used to cry every day thinking of my family, they made me smile.”

Madan Kumar (35) works in a garment store in the Chaura Bazar area of Ludhiana. He migrated there from his birthplace in UP when he was 15. He recounted the different experiences from his native village and Ludhiana, “The situation in my village was very different. We had separate neighborhoods where Muslims lived. Elders would tell us children to not venture into their area. I was scared. When I came to Ludhiana, I made friends with a Muslim boy who was training to be a tailor. He shared his meals with me and he was the one who got me my first job in a garment shop.I learned to speak good Punjabi there. Then I joined this job in main market 10 years ago and lost touch with him, but I always remember how he would call me by shouting ‘Chhotey!’ (a reference to his short height) and hand over his tiffin. I have put both my children in a good school now and I teach them to always share their food.”

Mohammad Ali, a 27 year oldwriter who has been a lifelong resident of Samrala, Ludhiana district, has a wonderful story of friendship transcending religion which he shared with Sabrang India. Mohammad, who works for Jag Bani newspaper, recounts how his group of friends supported each other through thick and thin, “We were working in another newspaper earlier and my friend was pushed out due to office politics. Our group supported him and helped him find this new job at Jag Bani where I have also shifted. We go out for dinners every 3-4 days and we have pure vegetarians and non-vegetarians eating comfortably next to each other on the same table. The question of religion has never even come up in my entire life here. My cousins from other cities of India tell me about how people are insensitive to them, and I feel bad. In my Punjab, my Samrala, we are all so mixed with each other, we don’t even remember religion is there.”

Where vested political agendas are using divisive tactics to cause communal disturbances, these stories of ordinary people in Ludhiana can not only pull at our heart-strings but also act as an inspiration. Prayers and practices may change, but the faith and love preached by all religions is the same. As Rumi wrote, “All religions. All this singing. One song. Peace be with you.”
 
*name changed to protect privacy

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