Jhabua: A Muslim family came forward to eradicate communal tensions in a small town of Jhabua district, by inviting guests to their son’s wedding with a Hindu card and a Jain menu.
Groom’s father, Mohammad Shabeer Makrani called the marriage, held on Wednesday a Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb which signifies social harmony. The bridegroom Mohammad Saleem and his elder brother Mohammad Arif took the decision of organising the wedding in this manner to send a message of peace, reported HT.
“About a month ago, a clash took place between Hindus and Muslims over a trivial issue. A large number of people were injured in stone pelting. The tension after the incident was palpable. So, I decided to have my marriage with a fusion of all elements representing different religions—Hindu, Jain and Muslim—to teach a lesson to anti-social elements who are out to disturb the peace,” Saleem said.
When he took a decision of printing the invitation cards with the images of Radha-Krishna, his father and elder brother took his side. “Initially, my father was concerned about how our relatives and community would react upon it. Some relatives did raise objections to it but my family stood by me and my decision,” Saleem added.
“When I heard that Saleem wanted to get invitation cards in sync with Hindu religion, I told him why not a purely vegetarian menu according to Jains for the reception. My family agreed to that suggestion also,” Saleem’s brother, Arif said.
All the guests appreciated the effort. A guest, Arun Jain said the marriage revived the ‘Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb’ in the area. “In our religion, there are a lot of restrictions on taking food items so I seldom eat at marriages. But in this marriage, I enjoyed the food.”
Another guest, J S Parihar said it was a praiseworthy effort by the family, “In future, we will also try to do something like this,” he said.