By TCN News
In an effort towards strengthening Dalit-Muslim unity, the Jamiat Ulama – i – Hind (JUH) organised a feast for the two communities in Lucknow on Thursday.
The event is the latest in a series of events that have been conducted by the JUH since May in an effort to offer a common platform for people marginalised communities to come together.
The JUH has categorically denied that the feast, in which people had Khichdi from the same plate, had any political aims. “There is nothing political about it,” says Maulana Mahmood Madani, national general secretary of JUH. “Somehow, an atmosphere has been created where sections of the society — particularly the Dalits, Muslims and tribals — feel sidelined. With such events, we want to reassure them,” Madani told Times of India.
It is important to point that although efforts to form a Dalit Muslim alliance has been tried in the past, these efforts received a shot in the arm in wake of the Una incident, where four Dalits were thrashed by cow vigilantes for skinning a dead cow.
In Gujarat, this effort has already taken shape and is showing important results, and the same is expected in UP, where Dalits and Muslims constitute 40% of the state’s population.
The leaders of JUH have said that more such events will be held across the country. “We want to bring together organisations that can work to ensure that the neglected sections of the society are aware of their rights to equality in every aspect of life,” Madani said in the Times of India report.
