Sikh family donates land for mosque in India

An Indian Sikh family has donated land to the Muslim community in Punjab’s Malerkotla district for constructing a mosque.

Former head of Umarpura village in Malerkotla district, Sukhjinder Singh Noni, and his brother Avninder Singh donated a prime piece of land for the mosque’s construction.

Malerkotla is the only district in Punjab with a significant Muslim population that remained in India after the Partition in 1947.

The region, once a princely state ruled by a Nawab, enjoyed special protection from Sikhs during the communal tensions of 1947.

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This protection stemmed from an earlier Nawab’s protest against the bricking alive of the two younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, by the Nawab of Sirhind in 1704.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Sukhjinder Singh said the Muslim community in the village lacked a place of worship, and his family had pledged to provide land for the mosque.

“We have around 30 per cent Muslim population in our village, and they had to travel to other villages to pray. My family had promised the Muslim community here that they would have a mosque, so my brother and I donated this land,” he said.

On January 12, the first bricks of the mosque were laid by Punjab’s Shahi Imam, Mohammad Usman Rehman Ludhianvi, in the presence of community members.

“This Sikh family has spread a message of love and humanity through their generous donation,” said Smit Singh, a Congress leader who contested the 2022 Assembly elections from the Amargarh constituency.

Other Sikh villagers have also contributed to the mosque’s construction. (The Indian Express)