Gurdwaras Open Their Doors To Muslims Of Gurgaon
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-11-19 06:24:13
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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The decision of the committee overseeing the management of five Sikh gurdwaras in Gurgaon to offer their grounds to the Muslim community to offer namaz is most welcome, especially in these times when communities are being divided and walls are being created between them based on religion, caste and creed. After the administration withdrew permission from several designated namaz sites citing objection from residents and Residents Welfare Associations (RWA), the Muslim community in Gurgaon was hard pressed to find spaces to offer namaz in peace. Some private individuals and now the gurdwaras have come out to help them.
The Sikh religion is based on sewa bhav or the selfless service to community. The best part is that this service is regardless of the religion, caste or creed of the beneficiary. This spirit is inculcated in Sikh boys and girls from childhood. Although langars operated in gurdwaras and elsewhere as per need are the most famous manifestation of the same, the community has always been at the forefront of helping the underprivileged and the distressed, as during the migrant crisis and the second wave of coronavirus when it started the "oxygen langars". A true Sikh will never refuse help to a distressed person and the community always unites to help people during crisis.
The original decision of the local administration to withdraw permission was highhandedness. If the local people and the RWAs were objecting, it should have impressed upon them that the spaces were designated for use as namaz grounds after application and they were using it with permission. That it gave in easily to people who wish to divide communities was bad. The decision of the gurdwaras will now unite communities and that is how it should be in a secular nation. How does one think that God will answer his or her prayers if he or she denies a fellow countryman the space to offer prayers, just because he follows a different religion?
