By Mohammed Siddique, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad : At a time when a gulf is widening between the police force and the minorities in India and a wall of distrust is coming up, a police inspector in Hyderabad has set a shining example of Hindu-Muslim amity and commitment to duty. Sri Hari, a police officer of rank of inspector and a resident of communally sensitive old city of Hyderabad has gone out of the way to help the Muslim community in the restoration of an old mosque which was lying locked and unused for the last 18 years.
“Masjid-e-Kambal Posh”, a 400 year old mosque, located in the Gowlipura area of old city, was closed down during the horrendous communal riots of 1990 as all the Muslim families in the vicinity of the mosque were forced to migrate from the Hindu majority locality in an atmosphere of terror.
Since then the key of the mosque was with the inspector Sri Hari whose house is located close to the mosque. Sri Hari, who is now happy to handover the keys of the mosque to a group of Muslims after helping in its repair, renovation and reopening, said, “I had come under pressure from the local people to not to protect the mosque but I never relented. I thought it was my duty to look after the mosque”.
So serious was Sri Hari in this matter that he did not allow the neighboring Hindu families to open their doors or windows in the direction of the mosque. When a wall of the mosque fell down due to the rains, it was Sri Hari who got it rebuilt. “In my absence my mother used to protect the mosque”, says the inspector with a sense of pride.
Sri Hari, who is now working in the anti water theft cell served as police inspector in several sensitive areas like Golkonda, Bahadurpura and Asingar in the past.
Due to his efforts the closed mosque was cleaned, its electricity connection was restored, and a fresh coat of paint was given to it. The mosque also had an open well from where the residents of the locality used to draw the water in the past. The well has been cleaned once again and the newly constituted organizing committee has announced that the people of all the communities can draw the water from the well when ever they need.
There is a shrine of a saint in the compound of the mosque and the members of Hindu community used to visit it in the past. The committee said that they were free to come and pay their respects at the shrine once again.
After the reopening of the mosque, Muslims are now regularly offering the Namaz five times a day at this mosque.
More than 200 people had died in the 1990 riots in Hyderabad and the victims included the members of both the communities. While Muslims were forced to migrate from the Hindu majority areas of the old city, Hindus were also forced to leave their homes from the Muslim dominated areas.
The communal hatred had reached such a point during the riots that a Muslim police constable Abdul Quadeer had shot dead an assistant commissioner Sattatiah because he was behaving in a biased manner against Muslim community. Abdul Quadeer is still serving life term in jail.
This is second such mosque in the Hyderabad city to be restored. More than five years ago another mosque in Mangalhat area was restored after a senior BJP leader and then union minister of state Bandaru Dattatreya took initiative and helped the local Muslims to reopen the mosque.
The mosque was closed down during the communal riots of 1979 when a mob attacked the mosque and killed several people when they were offering prayers on Shabe-Baraat. The mosque remained closed for almost two decades till the Muslims decided to have it restored.
Bandaru Dattatreya, a backward class leader was elected to Parliament from Secunderabad twice in the past and he is presently the state President of the BJP and known for his friendly relations with Muslim community.