Muslims shower petals, offer sharbat during Hanuman Jayanti procession in Kota

Amid incidents of communal clashes in parts of the country, Muslims in a locality here welcomed a Hanuman Jayanti procession by offering sharbat and showering petals.

Giving the message of communal harmony, several Muslim youths exhibited their traditional martial art skills when the procession halted in front of a mosque while passing through the Kherabad area of Ramganj Mandi town.

The procession started from the Hanuman temple in Kherabad village on Saturday evening and covered around two kilometers, passing through a Muslim-dominated area, with two mosques on its way.

A majority of those who took part in the procession wore saffron clothes.

Muslims led by Tahir Ahmad welcomed the procession, showering petals and offering garlands to those taking part in it.

They also set up stalls outside the two mosques in the area and offered cold water and sharbat to the devotees. Ramganj Mandi SDM Rajesh Daga said the Muslims came out of the mosques to welcome the procession after offering evening namaz.

When asked to join, Muslim youths displayed their martial art skills along with those from the Hindu community, he said. The SDM said the administration had held a meeting with representatives of the Muslim and Hindu communities ahead of the procession.

The Muslims enthusiastically welcomed the procession, he said.