‘Punjabiyat First’: Villagers Come Together To Restore Mosques Abandoned After Partition

By Raakhi Jagga July 10, 2023 Brick by brick, in villages across Punjab, efforts are on to tear down the walls raised by Partition. In a state that saw the Muslim population plunge from more than 40% at the time of Independence to 1.93% now, villagers are opening purse strings and, often, Gurdwaras to help restore abandoned mosques. One of the mosques under restoration is in Bakhatgarh village in Barnala district, where the initiative was taken by Amandeep Singh, a farmer, who in December 2022 donated 250 sq yards for the construction of a mosque. (Express photo) ------ More than 165 have been restored in the past few years, says the Punjab branch of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. One of these under restoration is in Bakhatgarh village in Barnala district, where the initiative was taken by Amandeep Singh, a farmer, who in December 2022 donated 250 sq yards for the construction of a mosque. Soon, money was pouring in from fellow villagers. After Rs 2 lakh were raised, neighbouring villages pitched in with cement and bricks. A local Muslim family installed a submersible pump for the mosque. Punjab mosques The day the foundation stone was laid, Amandeep recalls, the entire Bakhatgarh village, including its 15 Muslim families, shared langar, a communal meal. (Express photo) ------ “In addition, Muslim families from Uttar Pradesh donated around Rs 6 lakh after coming to know of the restoration,” says Moti Khan. The day the foundation stone was laid, Amandeep recalls, the entire village, including its 15 Muslim families, shared langar, a communal meal. Among those present was the family of Said Khokar Khan. In his 80s, Khan says, “When Partition happened, we used to live in Ballo village of Bathinda. Our Hindu and Sikh brothers and sisters did not let us go to Pakistan… we didn’t want to leave either. Saanu Pind Waale Bakhatgarh Pind Vich Le Aaye. Sadi Rakhiya Kitti. Sada Bhaichara Ajj Vi Kayam Hai (The villagers got us to Bakhatgarh, about 20 km away from Ballo. They ensured we were safe. Our brotherhood is intact even now).” Amandeep is hopeful the mosque will be ready before the next Eid, and Muslims in the village can finally offer prayers closer to home. In Jitwal Kalan village, located in Malerkotla district, about 52 km away, Jagmel Singh, a Youth Congress leader, took the lead, donating 1,200 sq yards of land for a mosque. The family also contributed Rs 51,000, and in August 2021, the foundation stone was laid by Muhammad Usman Ludhianvi, the Naib Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Ludhiana. Inspired by Jagmel, other villagers pitched in, with around Rs 5 lakh collected in donations. Punjab mosques Amandeep is hopeful the mosque in Bakhatgarh will be ready before the next Eid, and Muslims in the village can finally offer prayers closer to home. (Express photo) ------- In January last year, the mosque’s prayer hall was opened to the public. Now, only some finishing touches are left, with no help required from the Waqf board so far. In March this year, a proud Buta Singh, the sarpanch of Kutba Bahmania village in Barnala, was witness to the inauguration of the village’s first mosque since the earlier one fell into disuse post-Partition, with all of Kutba Bahmania’s Muslims having migrated to Pakistan barring two families. Mohammad Hanif of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind talks about a 120-year-old abandoned mosque being restored in Sherpur Sodhian village in Dhuri. The day the foundation stone was laid, the village distributed Meethe Chawal (sweet rice) to celebrate. Naib Shahi Imam Usman Ludhianvi mentions a personal experience, from Mallah village in Ludhiana, with just one Muslim family remaining, where Hindus and Sikhs rallied together to restore a mosque in 2016. The work was undertaken by the Habib Charitable Trust founded by his late father. The Shahi Imam also gives the example of Bhaloor village in Moga district, where restoration work on an abandoned mosque is ongoing. The day the work began, in January 2021, he says, it was raining. So the function was held in the village Gurudwara. Punjab mosques Mosque being restored in Bhaloor village of Moga district of Punjab. (Express photo) ------- Says the Shahi Imam: “In Punjab, we all live as Punjabis, and not as Sikhs, Hindus or Muslims. Punjabiyat keeps us moving. We celebrate Eid, Gurpurab and Diwali together, there are interfaith Langars.” Latif Ahmed, the CEO of the Punjab Waqf Board, says they have only provided “reasonable aid” for the repair and construction of mosques. The board has on its rolls 1,362 Muslim clerics, employed by various masjids, who are provided a monthly salary of around Rs 6,000 each, apart from about 37 imams. As per the 1941 Census, the last before Independence, undivided Punjab had a Muslim population of 53.2%. In the districts which would eventually come to India (including those in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, that were part of Punjab at the time), the Muslim population was about 32.3%. In the divisions of Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur and Amritsar, Muslims numbered 42.55% in the 1941 Census. Gurbhajan Gill, a renowned Punjabi poet and cultural activist, says, “The drive behind restoration of mosques could partially be linked to migration of workers from different states to Punjab, with a significant number of them being Muslims who need a place to worship.” However, he says, that doesn’t lessen the significance of the move in a state scarred by Partition, where after Independence, around 50% of the abandoned mosques eventually became Gurdwaras. According to Dr Shalini Sharma, professor of sociology in Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, the reason the state has been able to put the rancour of Partition behind is the dominant ideology of the Sikh gurus. “It guides people to live in harmony and brotherhood. If we go to Pakistan’s Punjab too, the hospitality and respect we get are commendable. Both sides of Punjab are also open to ties.” Commenting on the absence of an anti-Muslim narrative in Punjab politics, Sharma adds: “Also, the Jat Sikh community is dominant here, especially in rural areas. This community is politically in power, owns land, and is in a majority. They are as wary as Muslims about a ‘Hindu’ agenda… Hence in Punjab, one doesn’t see anti-Muslim politics or even a drive to change Muslim names of places.” Moti Khan, 25, says his family has never felt a divide from other villagers in Bakhatgarh. “I am the fourth generation of my family living in this village… many more are going to be here.” ----- Source: ‘Punjabiyat First’: Villagers Come Together To Restore Mosques Abandoned After Partition URL: URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/punjabiyat-restore-mosques-partition/d/130172 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism