KHORI BABA (NOWSHERA), JULY 26: Residents of Nowshera visit both the temple and the adjoining mosque to pay their obeisance. The decade old militancy and frequent Pakistani shelling has so far failed to create a communal divide among them.Instead, the bonds of communal amity have emerged stronger with every Pakistani onslaught. Their place of worship is Khori Baba, where a temple and a mosque stand side by side as a mute testimony to the age old and traditional harmony between both the communities in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.Both Hindus and Muslims lit the traditional lamps and lay chaddar (shawl) at the mazars of the baba and his family members. Their newly wed brides offer bangles at the mazar of baba's daughter. Apart from this, thousands of Hindus and Muslims living in villages near Khori Baba don't consume mutton and liquor every Tuesday and Sunday.The legend is that Khori Baba along with his family used to live at the present site of the temple and the mosque, with a large number of followers among both the communities. However, Pakistan attacked Jammu and Kashmir during 1947, but faced lot of resistance from Hindus and Muslims in both the districts.Thinking that baba has lot of followers in the area, the raiders caught him and asked to shift his loyalties to Pakistan during 1947. But, as the Baba refused to oblige them, the raiders gave him an ultimatum till coming Sunday.When the deadline expired, they revisited the baba and asked about his decision. However, he refused. The infuriated raiders killed both the sons of baba in front of him.They again issued fresh deadline, this time till Tuesday and threatened that they would kill him if he doesn't side Pakistan. The baba stuck to his decision. When the raiders, who confronted him at the end of the deadline, came to know that the baba had not changed his mind, they killed him. The baba's body was laid to rest along with his family members.However, no one knows how a mosque and a temple came up within the baba's shrine. Both the places of worship are now looked after by the Army deployed in the area, who have also erected a plaque narrating the entire story of the Khori Baba.Referring to the Khori Baba shrine, the Deputy Inspector General of Police for Rajouri and Poonch Range, K Rajendra, said that the bonds of communal amity are so strong in the twin border districts that there has been no communal clash ever since the outbreak of militancy. Instead, both the communities have jointly organised protest demonstrations against militants and, sometimes, even against the administration.If militants killed Hindu at Ari (Mendhar) in Poonch district recently, the Muslim closed their shops and joined his funeral procession. Similarly, in the case of killing of Muslims at Morah Bachhai (Surankot) in the same district, Hindus participated in protest demonstration against the killers.Though Hindus are in a majority in Nowshera and Muslims in Mendhar, they are well aware of the intentions of Pakistan. Both have been suffering due to Pakistani shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC) and also at the hands of militants.As such, when militants caused an explosion in the Rajouri town during April last, Muslims consoled their Hindu brethren and participated in the funeral procession of the deceased of that community. The latter also trekked long distances on foot to participate in the namaz-e-jinaza of the deceased belonging to the other community.Apart from this, both the communities jointly observed bandh in Poonch town in protest against the killing of some Hindus by militants in Surankot last year. They even held protest demonstrations against the administration, forcing it to impose curfew in the town.
