Kalama from the Quran used to inaugurate national integration program on Diwali in Chiplun, Maharashtra

Representative photograph

Chiplun, Maharashtra – On 19 October, the ‘Konkan Sirat Committee’, an organisation working for Muslim women and child welfare, organised a program titled “Bahna Bahna Mehndi Lagaye, Milkar Rashtriya Ekta Badhaye” to promote communal harmony between Hindu and Muslim communities on the occasion of Diwali. During the program, Hindu women and young girls had Mehndi applied by Muslim women.

The event began with the recital of Kalama from the Quran (invocatory verses praising Allah). Former Panchayat Samiti President of the Nationalist Congress Party, Ms. Pooja Shekhar Nikam, was the chief guest. Former Mayor Rihana Bijle, Nasreen Khads, and other office-bearers of the organisation oversaw the program. Arrangements for breakfast, tea, and snacks were provided by Radha-Govind Foundation, Savarde on behalf of MLA Shekhar Nikam. Hindu women and young girls from the town participated in the event and had Mehndi applied. The program took place at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre, Chiplun.

Editorial Perspectives

• If the program had begun with Vedic chants instead of the Kalama on Diwali, would the organisers promoting social harmony have accepted it ?

• When will Hindus recognise the chain of events — celebrating their festivals with Kalama recitals, being lured, made to recite Kalama, and eventually subjected to conversion ?