As many as 100 Muslim residents of the village in Vadgam taluka were invited to offer Maghrib Namaz and break their fast during the Ramzan month around 7 pm on the premises of Varanda Vir Maharaj Mandir, a 1,200-year-old temple holding great social and religious significance for the people of Dalvana.
in Dalvana, an arid village of Banaskantha, a historic Hindu temple opened its gates for Muslim rozedaars to break their fast on Friday evening.
As many as 100 Muslim residents of the village in Vadgam taluka were invited to offer Maghrib Namaz and break their fast during the Ramzan month around 7 pm on the premises of Varanda Vir Maharaj Mandir, a 1,200-year-old temple holding great social and religious significance for the people of Dalvana.
Fifty-five-year-old Pankaj Thakar, the priest at Varanda Vir Maharaj temple, spoke to The Indian Express claiming this was the first time that the temple premise was opened for Muslim brethren to break their fasts.
“The Varanda Vir Maharaj temple is a historic site in our village. Several tourists visit it throughout the year. We have always believed in co-existence and brotherhood. Many times, the dates of Hindu and Muslim festivals clash, and we ensure that the villagers help in each of them. This year, the temple trust and gram panchayat decided to invite the Muslim rozedars to our temple premises to break their fast. We arranged for five to six types of fruits, dates and sherbet for over 100 Muslim rozedars of our village. I personally welcomed the Maulana sahib of our local mosque today,” said Thakar.
Wasim Khan, a businessman from Dalvana, said, “Our village is known for brotherhood among communities. We have also worked shoulder to shoulder with our Hindu brothers in their festivals. This time, the gram panchayat approached both Hindu and Muslim community leaders and gave them a proposal that we should break our fast this Friday in the temple. It was an emotional moment for us.”
This year, the temple trust and gram panchayat decided to invite the Muslim rozedars to our temple premises to break their fast. We arranged for five to six types of fruits, dates and sherbet for over 100 Muslim rozedars of our village. I personally welcomed the Maulana sahib of our local mosque today,” said Thakar.
According to the 2011 Census, Dalvana has a population of 2,500, mainly comprising Rajput, Patel, Prajapati, Devipujak and Muslim communities. Muslims consist of around 50 families usually engaged in farming and business.
Dalvana Sarpanch Pinkyba Rajput said, “During Ramnavami and Holi festivals, our Muslim brothers helped us so we thought that this year, we should do the same for them. Our village is an example of social harmony for the entire country.”
Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani said, “We are living in a highly polarised atmosphere and hate has become the new normal. But when we get to hear such good stories, it encourages us and gives us a lot of hope for a better future. I am happy that the people of my constituency have mutual respect for each other’s faith. It is the need of the hour.”
**********************************************************************
Readers
These are extraordinary times. All of us have to rely on high-impact, trustworthy journalism. And this is especially true of the Indian Diaspora. Members of the Indian community overseas cannot be fed with inaccurate news.
Pravasi Samwad is a venture that has no shareholders. It is the result of an impassioned initiative of a handful of Indian journalists spread around the world. We have taken the small step forward with the pledge to provide news with accuracy, free from political and commercial influence. Our aim is to keep you, our readers, informed about developments at ‘home’ and across the world that affect you.
Please help us to keep our journalism independent and free.
In these difficult times, to run a news website requires finances. While every contribution, big or small, will makes a difference, we request our readers to put us in touch with advertisers worldwide. It will be a great help.
For more information: pravasisamwad00@gmail.com