Inspiring story: Meet the Hindu who opens shop for Muslims to offer ‘Namaaz’

Mumbai: As India grapples with increasing communal dissonance following the Dadri lynching incident, a bright spark has been seen in an inspiring story from Mumbai’s Dharavi.

When Muslims of Mukund nagar in Dharavi, Sion, in Central Mumbai, were wondering where to hold prayers during the
time in which the nearby mosque was underwent repairs, they turned to Hindu businessman Deepak Kale, as per rediff reports.

Kale not only agreed to open the doors of his 2,500 square feet shop to Muslim neighbours for prayers, but also decided to not take any rental fee from them till the time their mosque is restructure.

Deepak Kale, who runs a leather business, owns the property on the ground floor of Bajrang Bali housing society, took the decision to transform his shop into a temporary mosque after his friend Khurshid Khan, secretary of Noorani Masjid, told him about the situation.

“Some masjid trustees came to me to ask for my place. I have known these people since my childhood so I gave it them for offering namaaz. Khurshidbhai, who is a masjid trustee, is my childhood friend; I have spent my life with him.

“I didn’t want to take any rent from them because I bought this commercial space in order to sell it, and I had told them that the day I get a customer I will sell it after giving them two months’ notice,” said Kale.

“In our country we need to respect each other’s faith. Muslims must respect the Hindu faith and vice versa,” adds Kale.

Tanvir Azmi, a businessman and resident of Mukund Nagar said, “More than 90 percent of Hindus in India are like Kalesaab.”

The locality has an equal number of Muslim and Hindu residents. On the left of Bajrang Bali building live the Hindus with saffron flags, while Muslims live sporting green flags on its right.

Mumbai’s Dharavi witnessed one of the most horrifying riots in Mumbai in 1992-93. At that time Kale had taken an active part in saving a lot of Muslim lives.

“I housed around 200 Muslims safely in my leather shop during the 1993 riots. They left only after the situation normalised,” says Kale.

The locality has an equal number of Muslim and Hindu residents. On the left of Bajrang Bali building live the Hindus with saffron flags, while Muslims live sporting green flags on its right.