If you think Goddess Durga is worshipped by the Hindu community only, think again. A Durga Puja, practiced for over last 300 years, in a remote village of Assam’s Goalpara district has seemingly transcended the annual ritual beyond communal feelings and religious lines.
The annual Durga puja at Joybhum Kamakhya village near Sunari-located about 200 kms from Assam’s capital city Guwahati-is mainly an initiative taken by people of Muslim community. Interestingly, there is only one Hindu family in the village-the family of the temple priest-and it is the members of the Muslim community, on whom the maintenance and security of the Durga temple is entrust.
“The annual Durga puja in the temple in our village has been continuing since time immemorial. The village and its adjacent areas are mainly Muslim dominated and the community has been taking all necessary measures to organise the ritual every year,” said Abdul Kader Khandakar-a teacher and an activist, who has been actively associated with the puja this year.
There is only one Hindu family in our village now and it is not possible for them to organise the puja alone. So we have decided to help the family in all possible means to organise the puja,” he said.
“The temple in our village is about 300 year old. History has it that a Jamindar (landlord) Prithi Narayan Choudhury donated over 300 bighas of land to establish the temple here those days. Earlier there were Hindu families in the village too but most of the families left the village during the Assam agitation in 1980s and only one family remained there,” he said. “Our responsibility towards the temple had increased after the Hindu families migrated from there,” he said adding that the puja committee recently collected an amount Rs. 20 lakh as donation from people and organisations and renovated the temple.
“The puja here draws a huge crowd every year from neighbouring areas. Hundreds of devotees visit the puja everyday during the puja. Muslim youth from the village form group of volunteers to ensure the smooth conduction of the puja and also to manage the crowd,” Khandakar said adding that it is a unique experience to visit the puja at Joybhum Kamakhya village.
The puja assumes significance particularly at a time when the State-particularly the Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts (BTAD) of Assam-had witnessed large scale communal violence between the indigenous Bodos and illegal Muslim settlers last year killing close to 100 people from both the community.
“Our puja here is a unique example of brotherhood of Hindus and Muslims and a classic example of communal harmony. The Hindus and Muslims have been living in harmony in Assam since ages but certain forces have recently disturbed this harmony for their vested interests,” said S. Barman while adding that the people who do petty communal politics on the name of Hindus and Muslims should learn a lesson from the village and its annual Durga puja.