Setting an example of communal harmony, Muslim youths distributed water bottles and hugged participants of the Ram Navami procession on Sunday in Siliguri, West Bengal.
The Muslim youths extended Ram Navami greetings to the people taking part in the procession.
The people who were part of the procession welcomed the distribution of bottles and thanked the Muslim youths for the gesture.
Speaking to ANI, Shahnewaz Hussein, who volunteered to distribute water bottles, said, "We took the decision to distribute the bottles to foster affection among the people of different communities. We distributed more than 4,000 water bottles in the procession." He said that the Muslim youths organised a small camp on the occasion of Ram Navami. "We decided to distribute water bottles since the people taking part in the procession were coming from long distances," Hussein said.
He also stated that the Constitution also calls upon the people to foster unity among the people in the country, and live in harmony with each other.
"India is a country where there is unity in diversity, which is also endorsed by our Constitution. We enjoy everyone's festivals. It is Ram Navami today, and we are happy to take part in the celebrations. It is also the month of Ramzan," Hussein said.
Another youth, Saddam Qureshi, said that religious differences do not matter and "we want to live together in harmony".
"India's progress will be ensured by promoting unity among people of all the religions," he said.
Pankaj Kumar Jha, a participant in the Ram Navami procession, thanked the Muslim youths for their gesture.
"It is a nice gesture that they came forward to greet us on the occasion and also offered us the water bottles. We thank them for the gesture," Jha said.
