There is a saying in Bengali that one does not need to press all grains of rice in the pot to assess whether it have got boiled sufficiently, rather pressing of a single grain will do the job.
Similarly in the pot of humanity, exist innumerable memorable comments and anecdotes revolving great souls of the world. Without belittling the treasure trove of such enlightening thoughts, I prefer to pick a single grain from that pot which will reflect the ultimate essence of humanity in simplest of language comprehensible even to the little child also.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
A funeral procession passed in front of the Prophet (PBUH) and he stood up. When he was told by the people that it was the coffin of a Jew, he said, “Was he not a human being?”
As a father of a 18-year-old boy studying in a faraway city of South India, my heart has simply got shattered to pieces by reading the inconsolable sudden death of 18-year-old boy Rudra in faraway Pune and feeling the shock and pain of his father Haladhar Let – – – migrant labourer from the Birbhum district of West Bengal !
But along with such grief, my chest has also got swollen with much pride and joy on reading the unfathomable humanity and liberalism of the labour contractor Abdul Gaffar (also from Birbhum); who, despite being a person of modest means, immediately paid a sum of Rs 80,000 (non-refundable) as the cost of embalming the body and transporting it to the Birbhum village in an ambulance!
“I just had my iftar … I thought it was my duty as a pious Muslim to help Haladhar in this time of distress. It was not about money, it was about humanity” – – – the words of Abdul Gaffar simply arrive as rings of temple bell in this rabidly communal environment prevailing in these current times in Indian society with a significant section of Bengalis also succumbing to such churning of poison of hatred despite rich history of syncretic culture in the background!
In the 17th century, the local Hindu King Madan Roy had donated land to Pir Ghazi Mubarak Ali for setting up the iconic mazaar in Ghutiari Sharif — Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district — after the latter cured the former from a serious bout of illness.
Every year, a large fair is organised in Ghutiari Sharif in June coinciding with the famous Ambubachi Mela at the Kamakhya temple. Today the mazaar forms a revered pilgrimage or happy meeting ground of Hindus and Muslims alike! Or the concept of Bonbibi in the Sunderbans — the deity bearing the essence of a syncretic culture with the rituals shared by the people of both communities.
Or the Patachitra art (hand scroll painting) of Medinipur where Durga Shiva Ram Sita come alive through the brush of Muslim artists since centuries!
Indeed this has been the tradition of Bengal/India since centuries bearing such secular legacy handed down through generations since centuries!
May the Bengalis and Indians draw inspiration from this Haladhar-Gaffar saga and return to their all-embracing cultural roots and take a vow not to sacrifice their secular legacy and the all-embracing spirit of the Indian Constitution on the altar of violent cusswords, hate talks and sword-flexing barbaric “celebration” of epic heroes leading to all sorts of communal disharmony!
“Was he not a human being?” – – the simplest of questions raised by the Prophet form the greatest and ultimate truth of human civilization. Not glittering shopping malls-multiplexes-gigantic statues and towers-Space mission-“Enviable” rate of economic growth-Bullet Trains or Supersonic Jets-Missiles-IT Revolution; but one and only humanity and brotherhood transcending all barriers of language-race-religion-caste-colour-politics-nationality-sex-economy can act as the guarantor of world peace and it’s survival.
