Maharashtra: Amid frequent communal tensions reported across the country, a group of Hindus in Kelwad village, Nagpur made an exceptional gesture by gifting a loudspeaker to Muslims on Eid-ul-Fitr as a protest against the ongoing loudspeaker row in Maharashtra.
As per reports, the village without a single Muslim family has gifted a loudspeaker to a mosque in nearby Kinhola village on Eid.
The villagers of Kelwad village in Buldhana district collected funds from everyone and purchased a loudspeaker.
Kelwad villagers then invited Muslim brethren from Kinhola, to receive the loudspeaker as an Eid gift. The mosque in Kinhola, some 6km away from Kelwad, is the only mosque in this area. It already has loudspeakers installed.
According to a report by The Times of India, the head of the mosque (maulana) came from Kinhola and said that he has accepted the loudspeaker as a loving gift from Hindu brethren, and it will be used as a symbol of unity and communal harmony.
The political and social leaders who took this initiative in Kelwad also termed it an example of national integrity and unity in rural India.
"Hindus and Muslims are living together for centuries in villages. We don't have any problems or complaints about each other. The politicians are trying to create this new rift between communities for polarization ahead of elections," said Ganesh Nikam, a senior citizen and intellectual in Kelwad, who gave the idea of gifting loudspeakers to mosques.
Umesh Patil, president of the village peace committee, said that the initiative was a symbolic protest. "We believe that the motive behind suddenly raising the loudspeaker issue is to start communal riots in the state. Both Hindus and Muslims are living peacefully in rural Maharashtra. We can't let cheap politicians get away with inciting people and destroying our peaceful coexistence," he said, adding that the initiative is just a symbolic protest.