West Bengal:Muslim community raises money to rebuild demolished ’Kali Temple’

Mangalore Today News Network

West Bengal, Oct 30 2019: As the country celebrated the festival of Diwali and Kali Puja, a mosque in West Bengal’s Birbhum district was busy celebrating communal harmony as they inaugurated a Hindu temple in the vicinity.

The temple, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali, was inaugurated on Sunday evening amid Kali Puja revelry in Basapara, located in the Nanoor area, 160 km from the capital city of Kolkata. The temple was inaugurated by Nasiruddin Mandal, the maulvi of the local mosque, Hindustan Times reported.

This was the first time that the Muslim maulvi had inaugurated a Hindu temple. In fact, not just him but members of the Muslim community in Basapura raised money to buy the land and repair the Kali temple, which had been demolished two years ago for a road widening project.

This is not the only instance of communal harmony seen during Kali Puja this year. Muslims living in Durgapur village in Sonamura along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Tripura also celebrated Kali Puja. Durgapur village has a 90 percent Muslim population, many of whom were actively involved in arranging funds for the celebrations, creating Puja idols and building pandals, The Telegraph reported.

According to the report, a Hindu priest allegedly lived in Durgapur some 15 years ago and owned a Kali temple. However, after he sold his property to a local Muslim man and left, the Muslims in the area continued to celebrate Kali Puja with fervour every year.

Not just in India, Muslims in Pakistan also celebrated Diwali along with Hindus at the Swaminarayan Temple in Karachi, The Tribune reported.

Courtesy:Yahoo.com