Probashi- Topical Issue
Probashi- Topical Issue
One God, Many Names, Diverse Followers One God, Many Names, Diverse Followers
Despite India being witness to the Adil Shahi kings and was one of the which had dense mangrove forests worst kind of communal violence, I kingdom’ s most revered and spread across both India and strongly believe that secularism is respected generals. Further Bangladesh. Here a Muslim goddess the most coveted belief of India’ s Shivaji’ s grandfather Maloji Bhonsle is worshipped by the inhabitants
culture to which the majority of was a disciple of Sufi saint Shah spread acrosss approximately 400 Indians subscribe to. Detractors Sharief who lived near delta islands. Bon Bibi( the lady of
would immediately stand‐up and Ahmednagar. Blessed by the saint, the forest), is worshipped by both point out to the logical Maloji had two sons whom he the Hindus and the Muslims and inconsistency of my statement. To named after the saint – Shahaji revered by the honey‐collectors and
buttress their claim they would( Shivajl’ s father) and Serfoji. Shivaji the woodcutters who pray to her furnish details of communal riots was very close to Sufi saint Sayed before entering the forest and data on the numbers killed. I Yakub whom he would consult requesting protection against the would accept their data but not before undertaking any military attacks from the man‐eating tigers their claim. For every instance of campaign. which infest the Sundarban forests communal riots I can show twenty. Legend has it that Bon Bibi is the From Maharashtra let us go to instances of communal harmony. daughter of Ibrahim and his wife
Mednipur district of West Bengal News headlines, TV channels,
Golalbibi. Bon Bibi was abandoned and meet the Sunni Muslim seminar lectures only discuss the in the forest and she was brought up
Patachitra painters( Patuas) who communal intolerance, for a change by a doe. It is said that Allah sent paint scrolls which depict Hindu let’ s talk of examples of communal four maids from heaven to take care
Gods. Interestingly this community tolerance which is played out every of Bon Bibi. Bon Bibi idols dot along performs marriages according to day in the streets, houses and the periphery of the dense forests
Hindu rites with a Qazi present institutions of India. And it is on and she provides protection to while the funerals follow the basis of these numerous instances anyone goingg into the forests
Islamic customs. Married women that I claim strongly thatt an average irrespective of his / her religious apply sindur and the community Indian is a secularist. Minority in belief. celebrate both Islamic and Hindu this Country is not a Muslim, or festivals with fervour. Interestingly Saba Naqvi in her book In Good Christian or a Sikh; the minority in every Patua has two names one Faith has documented a unique and this country is the group of Hindu and one Muslim. courageous initiative by the intolerant people who design and Gandhian
Gujarati businessman commission communal riots for If we travel south from Medinpur Laljibhai Satyasneha who setup the personal gains. The examples of and about 100 kms from Kolkata in Satyar Mandir at half a kilometre tolerance which I cite in this article 24 Parganas is located the delta of from the Babri Masjid site in are not exceptions but the rule and the river Ganges called Sundarbans
Ayodhya. This temple has idols of it is time to take communalism towards extinction. Because being secular comes naturally to us given the legacy of tolerance which our ancestors have bequeathed us with.
Shivaji is projected as a Hindu rebel fighting the
Muslim Mughals. Such religious colour is unfounded if we delve a bit deeper into Shivaji’ s lesser known life history. His encounters with the Mughal kings were for territorial contest and not the Hindu version of a holy war. Shivaji’ s father, Shahaji
Bhonsle served as general to the Muslim
Bonbibi temple in a village in the Sundarbans. Inset idol of Bon Bibi