Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP/JD)
Udupi, Mar 30: Muslim traders who are facing a boycott in the annual fairs near the Hindu temples in the district, met Pejawar Math chief, Sri Vishwaprasanna Teertha Swamiji, at Sri Rama Vittala Sabhahavana of Pejawar Math on Wednesday March 30 and requested him to allow them to participate in businesses at fairs as in the past.
They explained to the Swamiji that the traders who eke out a living by selling items by setting up shops at the annual fairs are facing a lot of problems. They pleaded with the Swamiji to allow them to conduct businesses near the temples.
A delegation of Muslim traders under the banner of Udupi Jilla Sauharda Samithi led by Abubakker Atrady met the Swamiji and urged him through a memorandum to allow Muslim and Christian merchants to pitch shops at the temple fairs and festivals.
Reacting to the development, Sri Vishwaprasanna Teertha Swamiji acknowledged that peace and harmonious coexistence are very much necessary for a society to have a conducive atmosphere and that no one section of the society can achieve this objective. "Hindu society has suffered pain and sorrow for very long. Because of several bitter experiences, the Hindu society is going through agony. This issue cannot be sorted out by mutual discussions between a few religious leaders. A lasting solution should be found at the grassroot level. When a section or group continuously faces injustice, its frustration and anger pours out. The frustrated Hindu society has been fed up with injustices. We have to sit on a dais and discuss causes for this situation. There is hope of the harmony getting established again if no more such unsavoury incidents happen for the Hindu society. All the cows inside the cattle shed of a widow have been stolen and the woman has been driven to the streets. Such and several more incidents have caused the pain to get crystallized among Hindus. It is not possible to establish peace and coexistence if we just mouth these words. However, there is no need for any mediation by the third person," the Swamiji explained.
He noted that as a result of the Hijab fight, economic boycott of Muslim merchants has happened and felt that those who have faced injustice have to address the root cause of the problem. Let the society punish those who have committed wrongs and let them protest against the erring members. Wrong things done by one affects the whole society. If those who commit wrongs are not supported by the community, the Hindu society does not suffer the pain, he narrated.
Priest of the Mother of Sorrows Church Udupi, Fr Charles, Udupi priest Inamullah Khan, Haji Abdulla Navunda, a social worker, Haji Abdulla Parkala Manipal, Haji K Abubakker, entrepreneur from Parkala who is honorary president of Consumers Forum, Binesh, president Electricals Electronics Udupi district, Gangadhar, Muhammed Maula entrepreneur, Abubakker Nejar, V V S Ummer, secretary of Jamia Masjid Udupi, Muhammed Arif, general secretary of street vendors and fair businessmen union, B H Shettiar of Consumers Forum etc were present.