Festivals and
National Unity
The word for festival in Arabic is Eid, in Hindi it is Tyohaar, and in English, it is Festival. The basic purpose of a festival is to keep collective traditions alive and to connect one individual to another. Throughout the entire history of human civilisation, festivals have always existed. Holding a common national event on special dates of the year, or collectively celebrating a memorable day under a shared belief—this is called a festival.
Festivals usually take place on fixed dates of the year. On these days, people gather together and express joy in a special way. They greet one another. In this way, festivals help develop a sense of community and unity among people. They bring one part of society closer to another. A festival becomes a means to provide a strong and lasting ground for connection and bonding.
One part of a festival is usually linked to a particular social group’s beliefs and history. And another part is general, which is not just of interest to one group but relates to the entire society, and in a broader sense, to all humanity.
For example, the two-rak’ah prayer of Eid is related to Islamic belief. It is part of the Muslim religion. But sharing and eating sheer khurma during Eid is something that relates to all human beings. It promotes connection and interaction on a human level. It is something universal, not limited to one group. Similarly, worshipping Lakshmi on Diwali is related to Hindu belief. It is a religious act for them. But cleaning the house is something that interests everyone. Anyone can happily adopt it.
I was born in India before Independence (1947). I clearly remember from my childhood that when the festival of Diwali came, Muslims used to send sweets to Hindu homes. We would clean our homes in the same way Hindus cleaned their homes for Diwali. Similarly, when the festival of Eid came, Hindu children also wore new clothes like Muslim children. Sweets were prepared in Hindu homes, and they felt happy hosting their Muslim neighbours.
In this way, Muslims found points of interest in Hindu festivals, just as Hindus found reasons to engage with Muslim celebrations. From one perspective, these festivals were specific to their respective religious communities; yet from another, they took on the character of shared cultural events. In this sense, both communities participated in each other’s festivals collectively. Such mutual participation fostered a spirit of tolerance and repeatedly drew the two groups closer together.
This situation had created perfect harmony and unity between Hindus and Muslims in those times. There was no sense of otherness between them. While seeing themselves as Muslims and Hindus, both considered themselves as living members of the wider Indian nation. Both equally loved this great land whose name is now written in history as the Indian Subcontinent.
This was the same time about which Sir Syed said in one of his speeches (27 January 1883):
“Being a Hindu or a Muslim is a personal inner belief, which has nothing to do with external matters and mutual dealings. India is the homeland of both of us. It is India’s air that keeps us both alive. We both drink the sacred waters of the Ganga and Yamuna. We both eat the produce of India’s soil. In life and in death, we are together. In fact, in India, both of us, by virtue of being residents, are one nation. Through our mutual agreement, sympathy, and love, the development and prosperity of this country and of ourselves is possible. And with mutual conflict, hatred, and ill-will, both of us are doomed.”
That was the same India whose anthem was sung in the poetry of Iqbal. This verse beautifully reflects that shared feeling which almost every Indian has heard, and countless people have sung:
Sare jahan se accha hindostan hamara
Hum bulbulain hai iss ki yeh gulsitan hamara
Better than the entire world is our Hindustan;
we are its nightingales, and it is our garden abode.
Such shared environments and the spirit of unity are greatly supported by festivals. In reality, festivals are killers of hatred and mutual distance. If festivals are celebrated in the right spirit and in a collective way, then all kinds of conflicts and discord in our society can be permanently removed.
Someone from Madhya Pradesh told me a story. In one town, there was a tense atmosphere of communal tension. The festival of Holi was approaching, and there was a serious fear that a riot might break out. The colours of Holi might turn into the colour of human blood.
At that time, an elderly Hindu man went to the Muslim area. He told the Muslims, “I am your well-wisher and I have come to offer a suggestion for the good of all of us. If you accept my suggestion, there is hope that our town can be saved from a great disaster.”
He said, “You all know what the situation in our town is. I can clearly see that if this situation remains, then on Holi, a communal riot is certain to happen, and our streets will be stained not with colours, but with blood. There is a very simple solution to this problem, and that is what I have come to tell you.” He continued, “On the day of Holi, when the Hindu boys come playing Holi and reach near your neighbourhood, you Muslims should not stay away. Instead, Muslim boys should also come out and join their group and start playing Holi with them.” He added, “If, by chance, your clothes get stained with Holi colour and that bothers you, then I ask God to put that burden on me, and may the reward for avoiding the riot be written in your names.” The Muslims understood this suggestion, and on the day of Holi, they did exactly that.
On the day of Holi, as usual, a group of enthusiastic Hindu youth came along the road near the Muslim area. At that moment, according to the pre-decided plan, some cheerful Muslim youth came out of their homes and joined the Hindu group with full excitement. They began playing Holi with them like one of them.
After doing this, suddenly the entire atmosphere changed. The day that could have turned into one of violence between two enemies, turned into one of love and affection, with people spraying each other with rosewater.
There is also a story from a city in Maharashtra. There, every year on a particular date, a Ganpati procession is taken out, which is like an annual festival. Hindus participate in large numbers. For many years, whenever the procession reached the road passing through the Muslim locality, some incident would trigger anger between the two communities, and a riot would nearly break out.
Last year, the Muslims of that place held a meeting and decided that they would not resist the procession, nor insist on changing its route. So when the procession came, they, unlike previous years, welcomed it and tried to support it. For example, since it was summer, they arranged cold drinking water at various places along the way.
The result was very pleasant. The two communities, who earlier saw each other as rivals, began seeing each other as friends. The procession, which usually became a source of tension, became a means of friendship and unity between the two groups.
If festivals are celebrated in the right way, they undoubtedly become a source of tolerance and true unity. They connect the whole society in a shared human bond and help build a good and moral community. And the result of a good society is what we call unity.
All India Radio, New Delhi, 24 April 1989.
