Crafted over centuries, Sambhal’s harmony at crossroads now

For decades, Hindus and Muslims in Sambhal lived together peacefully, with occasional tension surfacing such as during the protests against the CAA in 2019.

Sambhal has long been a city where Hindus and Muslims have coexisted in harmony amid the centuries-old rich legacy of bone and horn handicrafts.

State police personnel deployed outside the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on Monday. (AFP)

But legal case related to a decades-old religious dispute appears to have put the city’s amity at the crossroads within just a week.

Four people died and more than 20 police personnel and officials sustained injuries when protesters opposed the second round of a survey in the Shahi Jama Masjid led by the “court commissioner” to verify the claims of the Hindu side that the mosque was built over a Harihar temple during the rule of Mughal emperor Babur in 1529.

For decades, Hindus and Muslims in Sambhal lived together peacefully, with occasional tension surfacing such as during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019, when two individuals were killed in alleged police firing.

Despite these challenges, Sambhal maintained its reputation as a hub of cooperative craftsmanship and cultural integration.

The city’s handicraft industry, exporting over ₹400 crore worth products annually to Europe, USA and West Asian countries, exemplifies this unity.

The Handicraft Welfare Association, representing both communities, plays a significant role in sustaining this harmony.

Its president Haji Tahir Salami said 90% of the artisans are Muslims with 25,000 individuals engaged in the trade. The association’s secretary Kamal Kishore Varshney said the industry thrives on the cooperation and participation of both communities.

Entrepreneurs like Sohail Parvez, owner of Craft India, echoed this sentiment. His 25-member staff includes 22 Hindus, a testament to the interdependence that defines Sambhal’s craftsmanship.

Engaged in their work at Sohail’s unit, his workers Deepak, Ashish and Ajay, bearing teeka (a religious mark) on their forehead, said, “We have been working in the unit for seven to 12 years and never came across any indiscrimination. We reported for work even during the tension after Sunday’s violence.” Sohail’s Hindu driver Aakash has been with him for the past 12 years.

Similarly, Kamal Kaushal, who lived in the Muslim-dominated Sarai Tareen locality until 2004, recalled how the trade fostered bonds that transcended religious identities.

“My grandmother used to scold Muslim boys and men, but they never retaliated and always extended their full respect to her,” he said.

Despite this history of cooperation, the community has not been immune to broader socio-political rifts.

Many locals like Kamal Kaushal believe the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 marked a turning point in Hindu-Muslim relations, planting seeds of mistrust that have grown over time.

Recent incidents, including the resurgence of a religious dispute through legal channels, have reignited tensions.

Gopal Gupta, a restaurant owner, observed that discord had escalated in recent years.

However, he notds a “positive change” of late.

“There is less of muscle flexing and more of circumspection now,” he said.

The filing of the first case since independence in a civil court on November 19, by the Hindu side over the decades-old controversy relating to the Shahi Jama Masjid and Harihar temple triggered protests, communal rhetoric and led to heightened security measures. Once-bustling areas are now tense.

The city’s business leaders like Haji Tahir Salami and Kamal Kishore Varshney are urging calm, emphasising that the city’s economic and social fabric depends on unity.