Malerkotla heals,Muslims fund repair of a church set ablaze

Despite a mixed population of about 75,000 Muslims and 50,000 Hindus and Sikhs,Malerkotla has seen no communal violence not even during the post-Partition days or after the demolition of Babri Masjid. But that peace was shattered last week when a mob vandalised the local church following rumours that copies of the Koran had been burnt hellip;

Written by: Dinker Vashisht

4 min readMalerkotla (punjab)Sep 19, 2010 04:20 AM IST First published on: Sep 19, 2010 at 04:20 AM IST

Despite a mixed population of about 75,000 Muslims and 50,000 Hindus and Sikhs,Malerkotla has seen no communal violence not even during the post-Partition days or after the demolition of Babri Masjid. But that peace was shattered last week when a mob vandalised the local church following rumours that copies of the Koran had been burnt in the US.

The incident occurred late on Sunday night,when a mob of about 200 people set ablaze the St Andrews Church in the town. Curfew was clamped in the area even as local community leaders appealed for peace. While there were no casualties,the incident has sparked fears that the towns famous secular character may again be tested when the Ayodhya verdict is announced this Friday.

Meanwhile,local industrialist Amjad Ali,chairman of the Sohrab Spinning and Textile Mills Limited,is funding the repair of the St Andrews Church.

It is a shame that a statement by an obscure pastor in a different nation endangered the communal harmony of this town. Some people with vested interests were quick to point out that Malerkotlas famed secularism is a myth. I am doing this for two reasons: one,I feel that what happened last Sunday was utterly wrong; two,to send the message that a handful of miscreants dont represent the entire Muslim community of Malerkotla, said Ali.

The Islamia school is near the church. Ali is famous in the region and is looked up to by youngsters. So when children at the Islamia school see him personally overseeing the repair work,it definitely sends a positive message, said Rev A Rogers,Bishop of the church.

At the Darussalam Islamic Centre,Mufti Fuzailur Rehman is scripting e-mails and messages appealing to the locals to maintain peace after the court announces its verdict on Ayodhya.

My message to the Muslim community of the region is absolutely unequivocal. Whatever the court verdict may be,it should be accepted with calm. Some people came to me with newspaper cuttings on some rightist Hindu organisations saying that they would construct the temple,whatever the court verdict may be. I told them that a few lunatics are not the representatives of the entire community, he said.

Sitting in the Muftis office is Anil Goyal,a prominent businessman and head of the Kali Devi Temple Committee. As per legend,when Aurangzeb ordered the death of Guru Gobind Singhs two sons,the Nawab of Malerkotla,Sher Mohammad Khan,was the only one who protested. When Guru Gobind Singh came to know this,he blessed the kingdom of Malerkotla with eternal communal harmony. It is imperative that we live up to his wishes, said Goyal.

Both Mufti and Goyal praised the local administration for acting quickly after the church attack. After the violent protest on Sunday,the town was largely peaceful. We imposed curfew for a couple of days as a precautionary measure, said SDM Gurlovleen Singh Sidhu. We are cautious about next Friday and are taking due precautions.

Last weeks incident was prompted by some vested interests. All the communities co-exist peacefully in this town. My trust runs a school here which has 2,200 students,of which over 600 are Muslims, said Jaipal Singh,a prominent Sikh leader and chairman of the Sahebzada Fateh Singh Trust.