Muslims, Hindus jointly organise Durga Puja celebrations in Agartala
Agartala (Tripura) [India], October 25 (ANI): Both Hindus and Muslims are members of the organising committee that holds Durga Puja celebrations in Agartala and Hindus too take an active part in the Eid celebrations here.
One such community Durga Puja is celebrated at Tular Math of Mullapara in Bhati Abhoynagar slum area on the outskirts of capital Agartala. For the last three years, president of the Durga Puja committee here has been a Muslim, Rohij Mia.
Speaking to ANI, Rohij said that this Durga Puja has been organised for the last 19 years and the organising committee has members from both the Hindu and Muslim communities so that peace and harmony can be maintained. No untoward incident has been reported there and both the communities jointly celebrate not only Durga Puja but also Muslim festivals such as Eid in the same place. The Hindu community comes forward to lend a helping hand in the celebration.
Tapan Datta, a local resident, said there is a difference between a religion and a festival because religion belongs to an individual but festivals belong to society. He said that by participating in each other's festivals, they maintain harmony and want to send a message to the state and the entire nation.
Datta said that during the lockdown all mosques were closed, but both Kurbani Eid and Ramzan Eid took place in the same place maintaining all government pandemic norms with the help of the local Hindu population. Similarly, Muslims helped in collection of donation from this slum area so that Durga Puja could be celebrated with enthusiasm.
Datta said that last year this puja got third prize out of the 118 community Durga Puja celebrations organised within the Agartala Municipal Corporation area.
Bikram Chakraborty, a priest, said that for the last five years he has been performing all rituals here and everything takes place with dedication and both Hindus and Muslims jointly organise it. Durga Puja is Tripura's biggest festival in which all communities take part, setting an example of communal harmony. (ANI)
