In the current electoral milieu, numerous leaders are endeavoring to foment animosity between communities. However, an incident in Haldharu village, located in Surat district of Gujarat, exemplified an extraordinary display of communal amity and humanitarianism. Nestled in the Kumbharwad area of Haldharu, a solitary Mysuria Hindu household resides amidst a predominantly Muslim populace. This family comprises solely a mother and her son. With the demise of the 75-year-old matriarch, Induben Bhikhubhai Mysuria, her 50-year-old son Raju Mysuria, who is afflicted by paralysis, remains the sole family member.
Confronted with the challenge of performing his mother’s cremation, the incapacitated son revealed his predicament to the neighboring Muslim families. Upon learning of his plight, the Muslim youth and elders promptly convened, collectively assuming responsibility for Induben’s final rites.
Induben’s funeral procession commenced, adhering to Hindu traditions, and culminated at the Hindu crematorium in Bardoli. Thus, the Muslim community members bid a poignant farewell to Induben, an event that reverberated throughout the locality.
Village chieftain Safiq Shaikh remarked that upon the elderly woman’s passing, the entire Muslim community united to conduct her last rites in accordance with Hindu customs. He further elucidated that the Mysuria family has coexisted within this Muslim-majority enclave for numerous years. “With no one else to undertake the funeral, we, as neighbors, felt it incumbent upon us to perform the final rites,” he stated.