Amid daily news of communal tensions in India, a village in India is displaying liberalism and tolerance. The Maadhi village in the Indian state of Bihar has no Muslims, and the Hindu villagers have taken it upon themselves to ensure that prayers are offered five times daily at a 200-year-old mosque.
There are no Muslim residents here now. So Hindus take care of the mosque. After a wedding, newly-weds come here first to take blessings'Indian news agency @ANI tweeted: "Nalanda - Hindu residents of Mari village take care of a mosque & play azaan with the help of pen-drive; say, 'It's a very old mosque. There are no Muslim residents here now. So Hindus take care of the mosque. After a wedding, newly-weds come here first to take blessings'. #Bihar"
The villagers use a pen drive for the Azan (Adhan in Arabic, the Islamic call delivered by a muezzin from the mosque five times a day). According to Indian news website indiatoday.in Hans Kumar, a village resident said: “We (Hindus) don't know the 'Azaan', but a pen drive (with a recording of the Azaan) is played every day to perform the ritual."
According to the villagers, Maadhi had a sizeable Muslim population, but people gradually migrated. According to the article Gautam, who takes care of the mosque said: “There was no one to take care of the mosque, so the Hindus had to come forward."
He added that no one knows when the mosque was constructed and by whom, but the Hindus offer visit it before anything auspicious.
"The mosque is cleaned and prayers are offered every morning and evening. People also pray here whenever they have a problem," said Janki Pandit, the village priest.
