A newspaper clipping of the story which first appeared in a Hindi daily........Courtesy Facebook
Dehra Dun | Aug 22, 2012: In a country often threatened by strife and conflict, the Times of India on Wednesday reported a heart-warming story about how in a place called Joshimath in Uttarakhand, Sikhs invited the Muslims to pray in the hall of their Gurudwara on Eid-ul-Fitr. The story was based on reports by local vernacular media as pictured above.
Joshimath, also known as Jyotirmath, a town perched above the Alakhnanda deep in the Garhwal Himalayas has a Muslim population of some 800 people. There is no mosque or idgah in the town and the residents usually offer prayers at the Gandhi Maidan, a public ground.
On Monday, Eid-ul-Fitr, the town was hit by torrential rain and therefore the Muslims were unable to offer prayers at the Gandhi Maidan. The head of the local Gurudwara invited the Muslims to offer their Eid Namaz at the Gurudwara premises. The Muslims on Eid offered their ritual prayers at the Gurudwara hall and were greeted by the members of the Sikh community.
The town reaffirmed faith in humanity by a simple gesture -- helping a brother out on a rainy day.
Traditionally Gurdwara congregations consist of people from all walks of life. Further, Gurdwara is open to all for prayer and service to humanity.
We are pleased with this gesture by the Indian Sikhs in the area where Muslim friends do not have a mosque of their own. We should go a step further, as was done in the days of our gurus. Gurus built mosques and mandirs along with gurdwaras in the towns they founded. Maharaja Ranit Singh continued this tradition. For example, in the town of Haripur Hazara, my birth place, Sikh Governor Hari Singh Nalva built a gurdwara, a mandir and a mosque on the same street and supported their upkeep. It is my suggestion that the Sikhs of Dehra Dun follow the same laudable Sikh tradition and undertake efforts towards building a mosque for the local Muslims. – Harbans Lal
Related story: In bad weather, Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus make good friends
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