Times of India, 14/10/07
MUMBAI: To look for Mumbai’s legendary secular spirit, one doesn’t have to go much farther than the sprawling Azad Maidan.
The maidan these days is hosting the 10-day Ram Leela celebrations before Dussehra, like it has been doing for the past 30 years. So when the city’s Muslim community, which also holds the Eid-ul-Fitr (morning namaz on the day of Eid) at the maidan ever year, applied for permission this year, the state government was caught in a bind.
The Eid-ul-Fitr is mandatory for Muslims and every year around 50,000 people perform the namaz at Azad Maidan.
The situation was ripe for a serious law and order problem. This is when Maharashtra Ram Leela Mandal, which organises the Ram Leela at the maidan, showed the way out. The mandal wrote to the state government and the police giving the nod to the morning namaz on Sunday morning at the maidan as the Ram Leela function is usually organised in the night.
“Both are religious functions that are important to Hindus and Muslims and after a long time both festivals fell on the same day,’’ said B P Pandey, vice-president of the mandal. “Instead of turning the situation into a communal problem, we thought it was the right opportunity to build bridges between the two communities.’’
The mandal not only gave the NOC, but also promised to extend its facilities including the stage it had built for the function for the Muslim brethren. “It is a good example not only for the city, but also for the whole country on how two communities can exist and even celebrate together,’’ said Naseem Siddiqui, chairman of the state minorities commission, adding, “This is a lesson for all politicians who resort to communal planks that the common man wants to live in peace.’’
This year, when the namazis converge at the Maidan on Sunday morning they may just send up a prayer for their Hindu fellow citizens.
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