DARJEELING SECULAR TRADITION Mosque venue for hill eye camp

VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, 06 Dec 2018,  Darjeeling: Hiteshi Sathi Welfare Organisation, a social organisation that draws its members from different religious backgrounds, will hold a free eye check up camp at a mosque in Darjeeling on Saturday.

Many wondered of they had any specific reason to choose the Anjuman-E-Islamia hall as the venue and whether where they trying to spread the message of communal harmony at a time when incidents of religious intolerance have increased in several parts the country.

Members of Hiteshi and Anjuman-E-Islamia, who were holding a joint press conference, had a blank expression on their face and were speechless.

After a pause, Babul Rasaily, vice-president of the social organisation, said: "What! We had not thought about the venue. We just decided to organise our event in town. In Darjeeling, does anyone think on these lines?" 

The members were candid and said that their objective was just to organise a camp and were not looking at spreading a message of communal harmony.

"This is a non-issue…We have been working in rural areas and this time we thought of organising this event in town and that is it," added Hemlata Subba.

The spontaneous answers indicating that religion is a non issue in the hills, is also a message to many leaders across the country that there are many places where religious intolerance is something that is not even thought about, observers believe.

"We ,too, were planning to organise an event to celebrate our Prophet's birthday. They approached us and we decided to organise the event jointly," said Shabbir Hasan, member, Anjuman-E-Islamia. The Islamia administers mosques and madrasas in the Darjeeling.

The association is said to be in existence since 1786 but it was formally registered in 1909, said Hasan. "There is no issue of religion in Darjeeling. We are all one. Darjeeling is a shining example of a secular place." 

Such has been the communal harmony in the hills that during Phulpati , an event of religious significance for the Gorkha community, which is organised during Dashain (Durga Puja), members of the Muslim community are seen taking part in the procession.

"We have always been taking part in Phulpati procession," said Hasan.

Phulpati shovayatra (rally), a unique custom of the Gorkhas where members of the community collect flowers, petals, and other offerings from their houses and temples and take them to a puja pandal to pay obeisance to Goddess Durga.