This story is from May 5, 2022

Maharashtra: On Eid, village with Hindus gifts loudspeaker to mosque

A Maharashtra village without a single Muslim household gifted a louspeaker to a mosque in an adjacent hamlet on Eid, sending out a message loud and clear on where it stands on the ongoing row over the use of sound systems at places of worship.
Maharashtra: On Eid, village with Hindus gifts loudspeaker to mosque
The maulana of Kinhola mosque said the shrine already had loudspeakers installed, but gladly accepted another one from the residents of Kelwad as a “gift of love” in troubled times.
NAGPUR: A Maharashtra village without a single Muslim household gifted a louspeaker to a mosque in an adjacent hamlet on Eid, sending out a message loud and clear on where it stands on the ongoing row over the use of sound systems at places of worship.
Residents of Kelwad village in Buldhana district hosted a group of Muslims from Kinhola, around 6km away, on Tuesday and handed over the loudspeaker to the cleric in charge of the mosque as a token of amity.
Kinhola is the only village in that belt to have a mosque.
Loudspeakers

“Hindus and Muslims have been living together in these villages for centuries. We don’t have any problems or complaints about each other. Politicians are trying to create this new rift between communities for polarisation of votes,” said senior citizen Ganesh Nikam, who came out with the idea of gifting a louspeaker to the Kinhola mosque.
Loudspeakers gifted to mosque

Umesh Patil, president of the village peace committee, said that the initiative was also meant to be a symbolic protest. “We believe the motive behind suddenly raising the loudspeaker issue is to start communal riots in the state. Hindus and Muslims live peacefully in rural Maharashtra”.
Social worker Nandu Borbale appealed to rural youth not to join the anti-loudspeaker protest. “Neither politicians nor upper class people will send their sons and daughters to sing Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques. We want no more of such provocations. Our village youth should concentrate on their studies,” he said.
The maulana of Kinhola mosque said the shrine already had loudspeakers installed, but gladly accepted another one from the residents of Kelwad as a “gift of love” in troubled times.
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About the Author
Chaitanya Deshpande

Chaitanya Deshpande is Principal Correspondent at The Times of India, Nagpur. He has a PG degree in English literature and Mass communication. Chaitanya covers public health, medical issues, medical education, research in the fields of medicine, microbiology, biotechnology. He also covers culture, fine arts, theatre, folk arts, literature, and life. Proficient in Marathi and Hindi along with English, Chaitanya loves music, theatre and literature of all three languages.

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