When Gandhi played host to a Muslim wedding
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Mahatma Gandhi
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AHMEDABAD: When Mahatma Gandhi
played host to the wedding of his Muslim friend's daughter and the
Sabarmati Ashram organized Islamic sermons, it proved to be an example
of perfect communal harmony.
In 1920, Gandhi sent invitation cards for the wedding of Fatima Bibi, the eldest daughter of his long-time friend, Imam Saheb Abdul Qadar Bawazir, who was with the Mahatma in his struggle in South Africa. Later, Bawazir returned to India with Gandhi in 1915 to live and work at his ashram.
In preparing the invitation card, Gandhi did not forget to get the auspicious figure of '786' printed at the top of the letter. After mentioning the date and venue of the wedding, the Mahatma invited people to attend the 'maulood sharif' (religious sermons) that were to start half-an-hour before the nikah was to be solemnized.
A similar invitation card was sent four years later. Gandhi again hosted a wedding, this time of Bawazir's second daughter, Amina Bibi, who was married to Dhandhuka's Rasoolmiya Kureshi on May 31, 1924.
Historian Rizwan Qadri, who has got hold of a copy of these invitation cards, says, "Hosting the wedding and organizing religious sermons for Muslims before the event was a gesture that reflected Gandhi's efforts towards communal amity. It was he who took forward the Indian concept of secularism."
Gandhi's attitude towards weddings continued to change as his ideas kept on evolving. Noted Gandhian Narayan Desai recalled that when he was a child, they learnt that Gandhi would not attend wedding ceremonies when those getting married were of the same caste. By the time it came to Desai's marriage, Gandhi's position had changed radically. He decided not to attend Desai's wedding because one of the two parties in the marriage was not a Harijan. Desai is son of the Mahatma's personal secretary, Mahadev Desai. After Mahdev's demise, Gandhi looked after Narayan.
In 1920, Gandhi sent invitation cards for the wedding of Fatima Bibi, the eldest daughter of his long-time friend, Imam Saheb Abdul Qadar Bawazir, who was with the Mahatma in his struggle in South Africa. Later, Bawazir returned to India with Gandhi in 1915 to live and work at his ashram.
In preparing the invitation card, Gandhi did not forget to get the auspicious figure of '786' printed at the top of the letter. After mentioning the date and venue of the wedding, the Mahatma invited people to attend the 'maulood sharif' (religious sermons) that were to start half-an-hour before the nikah was to be solemnized.
A similar invitation card was sent four years later. Gandhi again hosted a wedding, this time of Bawazir's second daughter, Amina Bibi, who was married to Dhandhuka's Rasoolmiya Kureshi on May 31, 1924.
Historian Rizwan Qadri, who has got hold of a copy of these invitation cards, says, "Hosting the wedding and organizing religious sermons for Muslims before the event was a gesture that reflected Gandhi's efforts towards communal amity. It was he who took forward the Indian concept of secularism."
Gandhi's attitude towards weddings continued to change as his ideas kept on evolving. Noted Gandhian Narayan Desai recalled that when he was a child, they learnt that Gandhi would not attend wedding ceremonies when those getting married were of the same caste. By the time it came to Desai's marriage, Gandhi's position had changed radically. He decided not to attend Desai's wedding because one of the two parties in the marriage was not a Harijan. Desai is son of the Mahatma's personal secretary, Mahadev Desai. After Mahdev's demise, Gandhi looked after Narayan.
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