Feature
Hindu man taking care of lone 120-year-old mosque as his religious duty
Lucknow: In a weird and real example of humanity, a 59-year-old Hindu man from Nanheda village in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar is taking care of the lone 120-year-old mosque as his religious duty.
As day starts, he cleans up the mosque mason, lights a candle in the evening and even gets the structure whitewashed once before every Ramzan.
When a group of rioters decided to demolish the mosque at the height of communal tension during the infamous 2013 riots, Kashyap risked his life to save it and gathered village men in his support.
This man told to leading English newspaper “My faith teaches me to respect all places of worship.”
Located 40 km from the district headquarters surprisingly, the village doesn’t have a single Muslim inhabitant. Nanheda is a Jat-dominated village with a few Dalits and OBCs residing here.
According to Ramveer, the village had a large number of Muslims during the British era. “However, they moved out gradually after Independence. Now, an occasional visitor or a traveller offers namaz here once in a while,” he said.
“I stay barely 100 metres away from the mosque. I grew up watching the structure and playing around it. For me, it is a place of worship, which deserves respect.
Meet Hindu man taking care of 120-year-old mosque as his religious duty:
“In the absence of anyone taking care of it, I took up the responsibility as a young man. For the past 25 years, I broom the premises daily and ensure basic maintenance,” Ramveer said.
Being a mason came in handy, as he takes care of the occasional wear and tear in the structure from time to time. Because of his act, Ramveer enjoys a lot of respect in his own village and in the region.
The village pradhan of Nanheda district, Dara Singh said, “It has been nearly 50 years since the last Muslim family moved out of the village.
“But the mosque remains and is maintained the way it should be. And the credit for this goes to Ramveer who even spends his own money to get it whitewashed once before every Ramzan. At times, his family members also assist him in cleaning up the place.”
Khusnaseeb Ahmad, a healthcare professional in the neighbouring Khedi Firozabad village, said, “I had visited the village a few years ago and was surprised to see a Hindu man looking after the mosque. I even offered namaz there. There are enough examples of love and harmony to counter hate.”
Ashraf Usmani, in-charge, organisation and development department of Darul Uloom, said, “It is this aspect of India that makes it great. Examples likes Nanheda are spread all across India.
“Soon after partition when all Muslims moved to Pakistan especially from Punjab, there were Sikhs and Hindus who protected and preserved mosques which are still there. Similarly, there are instances of Muslims protecting temples at many places.”
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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