VARANASI: Muslim women in the holy city of Kashi performed a grand aarti of Lord Ram under the joint auspices of the Muslim Mahila Foundation and Vishal Bharat Sansthan at Subhash Bhavan in Lamahi village, on the occasion of Ram Navami on Sunday.
Besides the decorated plates, colourful rangoli and the Ram name written in Urdu in a display of devotion, the Muslim women expressed happiness over the passing of the Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament and lamented that there was attempt to divide society by inciting hatred between Hindus and Muslims. They said statements from religious and political heads were leading the country towards division and in such a scenario, message of love, unity and communal harmony from Muslim women in Kashi was aimed at silencing those spreading hatred. They believe that the Waqf Bill was passed with Lord Ram’s grace.
The Muslim women, led by MMF president Nazneen Ansari, performed aarti for Lord Ram and read it out as written in Urdu. Songs were sung to celebrate the birth of Lord Ram and the Jai Siya Ram slogan resonated loud.
“Arab, Turkish, and Mughal invaders came, attacked, ruled, and many changed people’s religion, but we never accepted the culture of Arabs and Turks. Ram is synonymous with India’s culture. He is our ancestor. How can we change our traditions and ancestors? Whenever we perform aarti for Lord Ram, it brings peace to the souls of our ancestors. Our ancestors were devotees of Ram and so are we. We are happy with the reforms in waqf board. The name of Ram is the one that ends struggles. We are thanking Lord Ram by performing aarti because the Waqf Bill was passed by his grace and everything happened with his blessing,” said Nazneen.
Najma Parveen of Vishal Bharat Sansthan said Ram Navami was part of our country’s culture and with Lord Ram’s blessing, Triple Talaq Bill and Waqf Bill were passed in support of Muslim women.
VBS president, Rajeev Shriguruji, said celebrating Lord Ram’s birthday was a thousands of years old tradition. Muslim women in Kashi have kept this tradition alive. It sends a message of unity, love and goodwill to the whole world. Hatred can be ended in the name of Ram. Every country should include Shri Ramcharitmanas in their curriculum, he said.
