Lucknow: In a weird and real example of humanity, a 59-year-old Hindu man from Nanheda village in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar is taking care of the lone 120-year-old mosque as his religious duty.
As day starts, he cleans up the mosque mason, lights a candle in the evening and even gets the structure whitewashed once before every Ramzan.
When a group of rioters decided to demolish the mosque at the height of communal tension during the infamous 2013 riots, Kashyap risked his life to save it and gathered village men in his support.
This man told to leading English newspaper “My faith teaches me to respect all places of worship.”
Located 40 km from the district headquarters surprisingly, the village doesn’t have a single Muslim inhabitant. Nanheda is a Jat-dominated village with a few Dalits and OBCs residing here.
According to Ramveer, the village had a large number of Muslims during the British era. “However, they moved out gradually after Independence. Now, an occasional visitor or a traveller offers namaz here once in a while,” he said.
“I stay barely 100 metres away from the mosque. I grew up watching the structure and playing around it. For me, it is a place of worship, which deserves respect.
Hindu man taking care of lone 120-year-old mosque as his religious duty:
“In the absence of anyone taking care of it, I took up the responsibility as a young man. For the past 25 years, I broom the premises daily and ensure basic maintenance,” Ramveer said.
Being a mason came in handy, as he takes care of the occasional wear and tear in the structure from time to time. Because of his act, Ramveer enjoys a lot of respect in his own village and in the region.
The village pradhan of Nanheda district, Dara Singh said, “It has been nearly 50 years since the last Muslim family moved out of the village.
“But the mosque remains and is maintained the way it should be. And the credit for this goes to Ramveer who even spends his own money to get it whitewashed once before every Ramzan. At times, his family members also assist him in cleaning up the place.”
Khusnaseeb Ahmad, a healthcare professional in the neighbouring Khedi Firozabad village, said, “I had visited the village a few years ago and was surprised to see a Hindu man looking after the mosque. I even offered namaz there. There are enough examples of love and harmony to counter hate.”
Ashraf Usmani, in-charge, organisation and development department of Darul Uloom, said, “It is this aspect of India that makes it great. Examples likes Nanheda are spread all across India.
“Soon after partition when all Muslims moved to Pakistan especially from Punjab, there were Sikhs and Hindus who protected and preserved mosques which are still there. Similarly, there are instances of Muslims protecting temples at many places.”
