TOI photo

NEW DELHI: There are no religious divides here: on the contrary, you will find Hindus and Muslims living under the same roof, sharing meals — and their lives. Welcome to ‘ Sabka Ghar ’ — a home at Gaffar Manzil in Okhla — run by a non-profit organisation called Khudai Khidmatgar with the express aim of promoting communal harmony.

Its doors are open to everyone, irrespective of religion, gender, caste or region.

When this correspondent visited the home, he found one Hasnain Beg — with his skull cap on and a flowing beard — sitting crosslegged and sharing lunch with his new friend, Swami Anand Rajneesh. In the current politically charged atmosphere, it could have been a scene out of a Bollywood film; only, these otherwise deeply religious people are as real as the roof over their head. Beg and Rajneesh, like several others, have been staying at Sabka Ghar for several days now and have got used to each other’s company.

While they go and pray at their respective places of worship, their debates and discussions are held with mutual respect and admiration for each other. “Living here among Muslims, I don’t feel any difference. It seems that I am living with my brothers,” said Rajneesh, who hails from Motihari in Bihar and is currently pursuing a diploma course from Aligarh Muslim University.

Rajneesh said he joined the organisation after he became disillusioned with politics. “Here, I realised that people can come together despite differences.” Beg concurred: “It is only after you spend time together can you get rid of pre-conceived notions. Often, the ground reality is quite different.”

Right now, Rajneesh and Beg share their room with three others. Their days are spent either studying or discussing current affairs. “I come from an orthodox Muslim sect and Rajneesh is a Pandit; so, it’s natural that we have differences in opinion. But we respect each other,” said Bilal Zaidi, a lawyer from Surat. Their food habits differ too, in most cases. “I am a vegetarian. Whenever non-vegetarian food is made, they ensure that my portion is served first,” said Suyash Tripathi, a student at Jamia Millia Islamia’s Law faculty.

The idea of Sabka Ghar was conceived by Kush Kumar Singh and Faisal Khan, members of Khudai Khidmatgar. “Our intention was to bring together people with different ideologies so that they could see each other’s viewpoints,” said Khan.



In Video: A Delhi home where people from all communities stay and share meals