Religious harmony: Muslim couple marry in temple run by Hindu group in Himachal

 The wedding took place on Thakur Satyanarayan temple complex premises in Rampur that is run by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

Both the Muslim and Hindu communities came together and attended the wedding ceremony.

CHANDIGARH: Giving the message of religious harmony, a Muslim engineer couple got married as per the Islamic wedding rituals on the premises of a Hindu temple in Rampur in Shimla district in Himachal Pradesh.

The wedding took place on Thakur Satyanarayan temple complex premises in Rampur which is run by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).  The Nikah ceremony was performed in the presence of a Maulvi. Both the Muslim and Hindu communities came together and attended the wedding ceremony.

Thakur Satyanarayan Kapooria Temple Trust Rampur General Secretary Vinay Sharma said for the first time a Muslim couple got married at the hall at the Dhramsala in our temple complex. The marriage was solemnized on March 3 (Friday). The booking of the marriage hall was allowed “as per as per our rules and regulations which they followed”, he said. “There was no discrimination and everyone is welcome and it was gentle gesture from our side,” he added.

The groom’s party came from Chamba and a marriage reception was hosted in the hall in which Dham, a traditional vegetarian festive Himachali cuisine meal was served. “We give the hall in the temple complex for social functions like marriage and death ceremonies with a condition no egg of meat will be served, Sharma said, adding that Vishwa Hindu Parishad runs the temple and the district office of RSS situated in the complex.

Mahendra Singh Malik, father of the girl said, “We solemnised the marriage at the hall within the temple complex as it was in our neighbourhood as we respect all religions besides this has been appreciated by all the people of the area who took active part in organising this wedding. The purpose of getting this marriage done on the temple premises is to spread the message of religious harmony and brotherhood.’’
When asked if the boy’s family or the maulvi had any objections, Malik said that they were also very supportive. His daughter Naymat Malik is an M.Tech civil engineer. The groom, is also a civil engineer.