UDUPI: Udupi district sauharda samiti led by Haji K Abubakker Athrady, who is also the honorary president of the Consumer Forum, Parkala and like-minded people met Sri Vishwaprasanna Theertha Swamiji of Sri Pejavar Matha on Wednesday and sought his help to end the prohibition enforced by Hindu organisations on Muslims doing business near temples during annual fairs.
Abubakker said Udupi is known for communal harmony. For several decades, Muslim traders were earning a livelihood by setting up stalls at temple fairs, festivals and religious events. Muslim traders have had a cordial relationship with the Hindus and will ensure sentiments are not hurt in future too, he stressed.
Awareness in this regard is essential and it is important to uphold the message of communal harmony, he added while seeking the seer's support in restoring harmony.
The Pejavar Seer responded by saying it is people from the grassroots who are reacting to the pain inflicted on them by some. So, if some of us (the pontiffs, religious leaders) ask them to put an end to it, society may not fully approve. At this juncture of trust deficit, cooperation from all sides will make an impact and solve the rift between the two communities, he said. The wrongs cannot be made right by one community, he added.
However, he assured all that he will make sincere efforts to ensure society will remain united and inclusive.
Mohammed Arif, general secretary of the federation of street vendors and festival traders who was in the delegation, later told The New Indian Express that Sri Vishwaprasanna Theertha Swamiji rightly guided them and told both sides have an equal role to play to shun communal bigotry and unit.
"We are also planning to meet the Udupi DC Kurma Rao and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and urge them to take necessary action whereby businesses of Muslim traders are not affected," he went on to say.