TIRUCHY: In the backdrop of furor over CAA, Muslims in Tiruchy celebrated Republic Day in a grand manner and they sported tricolor flags on their shirts. In fact, almost all mosques in Tiruchy were seen adorned with the Tricolour on Sunday. Many denizens were taken by surprise by the Republic Day celebrations this year.
Many office bearers in the mosques told TNIE that it was important to sensitise people on the importance of the Constitution on this day. Some youths even put up the image of the preamble of the constitution as their status on social network and instant messaging platforms. National flags and banners with slogans like, ‘India is our country and Islam our breath’ adorned the Muslim settlements in the city..
Speaking about it, Sahul Hameed, joint secretary of Noor-ul-hudha mosque in Alwarthopu said, “Every year we celebrate Republic Day in mosques but this year we are organising it in a grand manner. Given the current tension caused over CAA and NPR, it had become more important to realise that our preamble spells out equality and secularism. What better day to protect the Constitution than the day it came into force?”
He jointly organised the Republic Day meeting at the Ilahi mosque in Beema Nagar where members of both Noor-ul-hudha and Ilahi mosques attended.
The Students Islamic Organisation and Welfare Party of India (WPI) also held events.
Jamal Mohamed, the district secretary of WPI said, “There were many Muslim leaders who took part in the freedom struggle and sacrificed their lives. There is an attempt to portray Muslims as outsiders. By organizing the celebrations, we are fighting that attempt.”