GUWAHATI, June 17 - Socio-cultural organisation Dolong organised �Chenehor Mehfil� � a rally for spreading mutual love and respect among the communities at the Lakhidhar Bora Kshetra here yesterday.
The organisers said this event was started as an annual event last year subsequent to Id-ul-Fitre, the festival of merriment, following the month-long Ramadan austerity.
Significantly, majority of the organisers of this rally are followers of Hinduism. The name of the rally has been taken from a kawwali composed by Dr Bhupen Hazarika and sung by him along with the legendary Mohammad Rafi and other artistes.
Yesterday�s Mehfil was anchored by working president of the 2019 Chenehor Mehfil Organising Committee Brajen Deka and it was addressed by Hanif Khan Shastri, a recipient of the National Integration Award, 2009.
In his address, Shastri said that Islam was sent by the Almighty as the heir of the religions that existed prior to it. He claimed that this was announced by Rasulullah Hazarat Mohammad himself and this was repeatedly mentioned in the holy Quran, too.
Prior to Islam, the Almighty had sent a Paigambar (Prophet) for each of the nations and linguistic groups and through each of these prophets, he had sent the divine messages and these messages were compiled in books. The Quran has mentioned names of four of such books, said Shastri.
He underlined the need to honour all these holy books by the followers of Islam. He asserted that several shlokas of the four Hindu Vedas are quite similar to several of the churas of the Quran. To drive home his point, he recited some of the Veda shlokas and the similar churas of the Quran.
The function was also addressed by chief convenor of Dolong, Rajiv Bhattacharyya, and president of the 2019 Chenehor Mehfil Organising Committee Munin Nabis. Singer Bidyasagar presented borgeet, jikir and tokari geet at the function, while the song Mahabahu Brahmaputra Maha Milanor Tirtha of Dr Bhupen Hazarika was presented as a chorus at the function.
Several artistes including singers Faruk Hussain, Mustakin Ahmed and their troupe, instrumentalist Rupam Talukdar, singers Arundhati Bezbarua, Dolly Baishya, Parveen Hussain, Jinti Das and Santana Kalita, also performed at the function. Student leader Bipul Rabha released the souvenir published on the occasion.
