Hundreds of villagers had gathered for the foundation stone laying ceremony of a mosque in Bhoolar village in Punjab’s Moga district on Sunday morning, when it started pouring. Many got disappointed, but the village head assured that they could all join in at the nearby gurdwara.
“People were saddened and disappointed when told that the programme might have to be postponed due to the heavy rain, but all villagers decided that the venue will be shifted to the nearby Sri Satsang Sahib gurdwara,” Pala Singh, the village chief, told journalists. Guru’s ghar is always open for all communities. Then everyone got together and the programme was held and all participated, irrespective of their religion.”
The people gathered and prayed for the successful completion of the project. They were later served steaming hot jalebis even as it poured outside.
According to Singh, the village has seven gurdwaras and two temples, but no mosques. “There was a mosque before Partition in 1947 but its structure turned to ruins with time,” he said. “We have four Muslim families in the village who chose to stay back and since then, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh families have lived in harmony in our village. However, all of us wanted that Muslim families too have their place of worship, so it was decided that the mosque will be rebuilt on the land where it existed earlier.”
Many villagers donated money for the mosque, ranging from a mere Rs100 to even Rs100,000. The waqf board members also contributed funds, he added. Naib Shahi Imam Maulana Mohammad Usman Rahmani Ludhianvi thanked villagers.