At a time when communal tension is almost an everyday event, a group of young Muslim girls near Agra are setting up an example of social harmony by observing the traditional nine-day fast during the Navratri festival.

The residents of village Gohra in Bah Tehsil, about 70 km from Agra, these Muslim girls belong to separate families but are united in their faith for the goddess. Moreover, their families have no objection to the girls observing the customary fast or worshipping the deity during the Navratras.

Naseefa, Sapna, Mahak and Khushbu have been on fast since Friday and claim that their faith in Islam does not clash with their love for the goddess.

Talking to India Today, 10-year-old Khushbu says her family observes the customs of both the religions and they celebrate Diwali and Eid with equal vigour. Her mother Haseena is also a devotee of the goddess and regularly visits the temple along with the Hindu women.

Jainuddin, a local resident, says there has been no communal incident between the Hindus and the Muslims of the village and they have always lived in complete harmony. "If anyone tries to do politics in the name of religion, he is thrown out of the village," he says.

Social activist Deep Sharma says Agra has a culture of communal harmony which was postulated by Emperor Akbar as 'Sulh-e-Kul'. "While it is not denied that there have been some communal incidents in Agra, overall, the way the people of this city have set aside their differences immediately after those incidents and hugged each-other, cannot be seen elsewhere," he says.

"This is partly because Agra was one of the first cities in the country where the Mughal dynasty took roots and the first order of business for the Mughals was to integrate themselves with the local Hindu population. As a result, the culture of co-existence has been there for centuries and such examples of cross-religion devotion can be seen in a lot of villages even now," Sharma concludes.

Also read:

What is Navratri? What do these nine days of festivities mean?

