16, Feb 2015

Nayagaon Akbarpur Chhendri (Kanth), February 16, 2015
Mohammad Ali
A loudspeaker was installed in a small temple at Kanth in Moradabad last Friday. Muslim and Hindu villagers sat together with the local authorities and agreed to install it for a few days on the occasion of Mahashivratri.
What happened in just an hour of discussion would have appeared “almost impossible” a few months ago, the villagers said. They spoke of the “mutual distrust” between the two communities and attempts of political players to polarise the region over the issue. Last June, the situation became tense after BJP workers violently protested against the removal of the loudspeaker by the administration, which acted on complaints registered by a member of the minority community. Tragically, during the protests, the then Moradabad District Magistrate Chandrakant lost vision in one eye.