India is known for its unity though there have been situations in India's history which had led to turmoil and fight between different communities such as the 1993 Mumbai Blast followed by the Babri Masjid demolition.

Post the comminal tension in the country, there has been one man called Abdul Hamid Karnal who wanted to foster the communal harmony during that time. And its been 30 years since then and its an unbroken tradition during Ram Navami shobhayatra that a group of Muslims, led by Karnal family, welcomes the procession near the entrance of Mominpura.

The family offers flowers to the Idol mounted on a chariot shaped vehicle. Karnal's son Asif also walks along for a distance when the procession takes off from the Poddareshwar Temple.

This year the procession is taking place after three years of Covid Pandemic, and Asif and his four brothers started making preparations for the big day with a a lot of zeal of the eve of the Ram Navami Shobhayatra.

Asif also takes part in the meetings held in temple premises and also donates for the celebration.

"I would be releasing tricoloured balloons and 21 pigeons as a gesture of peace, Around 60 to 70 people, including my late father's friends, will be part of the organizing team. Others from the locality also join," said Asif.

Reminiscing about the gruesome time he says, "Babri masjid was demolished in December 1992, and there was an episode of riots in the locality. I still remember how our shop was filled with smoke after the cops fired teargas shells. They also fired bullets leading to casualties. Those days, there used to be lot of friction among the two communities. My father, who was a social worker, thought of creating harmony and started the tradition of welcoming the shobhayatra."

Though there was a time when fatwas was issued against Karnal family. They had an eatery which was demolished then, now they run a small shop.

"We may be down but the spirits are still high. There was time when I donated Rs5,000 to the temple, now have to be content with Rs500," he says.

Source: TimesofIndia