South Dinajpur: Muslim community members join hands to clean roads for Rath Yatra in Kumarganj

BALURGHAT: In a heartwarming display of communal harmony, members of the minority Muslim community in Danga Village under Kumarganj Block, South Dinajpur, voluntarily came forward on Thursday night to clean the village roads for the annual Rath Yatra festival in the area.

Armed with brooms and buckets, several Muslim residents, including Raja Bali Sarkar, teacher Khademul Islam Sarkar and Mojaffar Rahman Sarkar, swept the roads near the Rath Yatra route, ensuring a clean and welcoming environment for the devotees and the chariot procession.

Speaking to the media persons, Khademul Islam Sarkar said: “This festival belongs to all of us. We may follow different faiths but we share the same village, the same soil. It is our duty to stand together during each other’s festivals.”

Raja Bali Sarkar echoed the sentiment: “Religious identity should never divide us. When we join in to support each other’s traditions, we celebrate our true culture—unity in diversity.” Mojaffar Rahman Sarkar added: “We have grown up seeing each other’s festivals. Helping in Rath Yatra preparation is our way of showing love and respect to our

Hindu neighbours.”

The spontaneous initiative was warmly welcomed by the villagers, who applauded the gesture as a symbol of social unity and brotherhood.

Such acts, amidst the often polarised narratives elsewhere, stand as a reminder that the roots of Bengal’s secularism still run deep in its villages.