Celebration of Hindu festivals and opposition by Muslims

After some communal incidents were reported in Madhya Pradesh over the celebration of the Hindu festival Holi, the opposition is now observed over the celebration of the Hindu New Year in Rajasthan. Communal violence and riots have been observed during both recent Hindu festivals. On both occasions, Muslims opposed the celebration and disturbed the communal harmony in these states. However, the Muslims have celebrated the Islamic festival Ramzan peacefully across the country. Then the question arises, why does the celebration of the Hindu festival trouble Muslims? 

Incident in Madhya Pradesh

Before looking at the Rajasthan incident, let us look at the Madhya Pradesh incident. While celebrating the Holi, a communal clash took place between the tribals and Muslims. In this clash, one tribal died, while six others were injured severely. The area where the violence occurred was Muslim dominated. The violence took place in the Khamaria village of Silwani tehsil in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh. Muslims constitute 36 per cent of the total population in the Silwani tehsil, according to the Census 2011.

The children belonging to the tribal community were celebrating the Holi. Due to some disputes over the celebration of Holi, a clash between tribals and Muslims was observed. Due to the dominance of the Muslim community in the area, a large number of members of the community carried out the violence in which houses and shops of tribals were also set on fire. In this violence, a 22-year-old Raju was shot dead. The police have arrested 13 out of the 16 accused. Several injured tribals were admitted to Hamidia Hospital in Bhopal.

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Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan reached the hospital and declared compensation. Additionally, the administration razed the illegal shops and houses of the accused.

Incident in Rajasthan

After a week, another incident was reported in which stones were pelted on a bike rally that was carried out on the occasion of the Hindu New Year in the Karauli district, Rajasthan. According to the police, the stones were pelted on the motorbike rally when it was passing through a Muslim majority area. At least 35 people were injured. Muslims constitute 22.5 per cent of the total population in Karauli tehsil as per Census 2011. 

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The clash was so violent that the administration was forced to send around 1200 police to control and save the people from the attack. After the primary investigation, the police revealed that Congress Councilor Matloob Ahmed was identified as the main conspirator in the case. Matloob Ahmed was accused of stone-pelting, inciting violence and organising a mob to attack the rally. Reportedly the Rajasthan police have also mentioned his name in the FIR, and the accused has been booked under section 307 of the IPC. 

Role of the Muslim community

In both incidents, Muslims are seen as common opposition to Hindu festival celebrations. In Rajasthan, the most controversial Islamic organization, namely the Popular Front of India (PFI), had demanded the police not to give permission for a motorbike rally on a specified route. The demand was unconstitutional. As India is a secular country, all religions have equal rights to profess their religion. Police had refused to deny the permission. However, the police failed to maintain law and order, and violence took place. 

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It is the responsibility of all religious and non-religious communities to maintain harmony in a secular country like India. A Series of conflicts have been observed between Muslims and non-Muslims in India and across the world since the foundation of Islam. Moreover, the Muslim community is also divided between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Muslims are against religious practices other than Islam. According to them, Allah is the only God. Idol worship is prohibited. Praying before God other than Allah is a crime. Even non-religious communities like atheists are also enemies of Islam. Such and further several Islamic values are responsible for the communal disturbance. Muslims in India must acknowledge that India is not an Islamic country. No Sharia Law will be applicable in India. India has Constitution, and every resident has to follow it religiously. This acknowledgement may improve the social relations of Muslims with other non-Muslim communities in India.