Hindu-majority village elects Muslim man as panch in J&K
Setting an example of communal harmony and brotherhood, a Hindu-majority village in Bhaderwah town of Jammu and Kashmir elected unopposed the head of its only Muslim family as their Panch (village head) in the ongoing nine-phased Panchayat polls.
Chowdhary Mohammad Hussain (54), a Gujjar from a family of cattle rearers, has become the Panch of Bhelan-Kharothi village of Hanga Panchayat.
Incidentally, Hussain’s is the only Muslim family in the 450-odd residents of the village. He is living with his wife, five sons and a daughter-in-law and has married off all his four daughters.
“This may seem bizarre in a polarised and communally driven society today, but we take pride in our shared brotherhood,” a local resident, said Duni Chand (57). He said Hussain was the unanimous choice of his community which wanted to set a precedent for harmonious coexistence and espouse brotherhood which is the strength of nation.
“The narrative of polarisation and division on the name of religion has not taken away our
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belief that we are part of the same family. If it has not destroyed our cohesion over the period, it won’t now,” Chand said.
“No doubt Hussain is capable of handling village issues, but we chose him to set an example in the society and show Hussain that he should not feel isolated,” he said.
“I am feeling fortunate to be born in a village, where my elders have taken a bold decision given the prevailing situation. I hope the society as a whole will take a lesson from the decision of our elders and isolate the elements bent upon to disturb the mutual trust and faith to save the country,” said Harsh Singh (24), a postgraduate student, said.
The unanimous decision of the Subodh Singh for the violence and claiming he wasn’t present when the shots were fired.
Five more people were arrested in the mob violence case, inspector general (crime) SK Bhagat had said on Friday, taking the total number of arrests to nine.
The initial probe revealed both Subodh Singh and Sumit Kumar, who was allegedly a part of the rampaging mob, were shot dead by weapons of the same .32mm bore. However, whether it was the same weapon that fired those shots will be known only after the forensic report is received. villagers has not only made Hussain emotional but upbeat to work round-the-clock for the welfare of the villagers.
“We have been living in complete harmony and they never let me feel that I am the only Muslim living in their village and by making me their Panch that too unopposed has taken their love and faith to a different level, for which I will be indebted to them for the rest of my life,” Hussain said.
He said he would not only try his best to live upto their expectations but would surely go an extra mile to do whatever possible.“This is the only way, I can repay their favour,” he said. He said road connectivity to the village would be his top priority.
ANOTHER SUSPECT, LOCAL BJP LEADER SHIKHAR AGARWAL, ALSO PUT OUT A VIDEO BLAMING INSPECTOR SUBODH SINGH FOR THE VIOLENCE AND CLAIMED HE WASN’T PRESENT WHEN THE SHOTS WERE FIRED
On the same occasion, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said SAARC can help create a conducive and congenial atmosphere to build economic synergy in the region and transform the quality of life of the people of South Asia.
“It is only through adhering to the principles of sovereign equality and mutual respect among member states, would we able to exploit the true potential of SAARC and achieve our cherished goal of prosperous and developed South Asian region,” Khan said in his SAARC Charter Day message.
Without mentioning Pakistan’s differences with India, he said it was unfortunate that unresolved bilateral disputes among member-countries had prevented SAARC from achieving the goal of socio-economic cooperation and prosperity.