Hindu, Muslim promote communal harmony in Bangladesh; donate land for mosque and crematorium respectively

Dhaka: Two men of different faiths – a Hindu and a Muslim – in Bangladesh’s Khulna division have been delivering a lesson in communal harmony through their acts of charity towards each other’s religion.

Pranab Kumar Ghosh, an assistant professor at Fakirhat Azhar Ali Degree College in Bagerhat district, donated land for the construction of a mosque, and Sheikh Mizanur Rahman, a local Awami League leader, gave away a piece of his land to be used as a cremation ground for the Hindus to promote communal harmony in their locality, Bangladesh’s bdnews24.com reported on Thursday.

Ghosh, a landowner in Fakirhat, donated land for the construction of a mosque as locals sought his help because there was no mosque in the area.

According to the media report, initially, a small prayer house was built in the area, which was later replaced by a two-storey building constructed on nearly 40 acres of land.

Gaus Sheikh, an official at the mosque, said Ghosh ”did not just give us the land”, but also came and ate with us when invited to the mosque.

”He has given as much land as needed for an Eidgah [open air enclosure] and a separate space for women to pray,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Mizanur Rahman, who owned land next to a Sanatan Dharma crematorium on the banks of river Bhairab, gave away his own land for the construction of a new cremation ground as the old one was washed away.

Mizanur, a former vice chairman of Fakirhat Union Council, said he was deeply moved by the thought that a community did not have any land to conduct the funeral rites for their dead.

”People from different communities, including Hindus and Muslims, live here. When the central cremation ground was swallowed by the river, the Hindu devotees had some problems performing their funeral rites. I owned land next to the cremation ground. When local Hindus asked for it, I gave it to them,” he said, adding that people of the locality wished to live in harmony in the days to come.

Fakirhat Upazila Council Chairman Swapan Kumar Das believes that the acts of these two men will inspire people in the area and future generations to take similar initiatives.