THE BENEFIT OF AVOIDANCE

During a trip to Pune, the locals told me that on September 22, 1991, a Ganesh Chaturthi procession was scheduled to happen. On the same day, it was also the 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal, and the Muslims planned to hold their Milad-un-Nabi procession. If both processions took place on the same day, a clash was unavoidable, which could lead to communal unrest and turn a day of celebration into a day of sorrow for the city.

The wisdom of the Seerat Committee in Pune prevented this problem. They held a meeting to decide what to do in such a situation. By consensus, they chose the approach of avoidance. As a result, they changed their date and postponed the Milad-un-Nabi procession by a few days, holding it on September 27. This way, both the Hindu procession and the Muslim procession took place peacefully on different days, avoiding any conflict.

All the people in the city were very pleased with this incident and appreciated the Muslims’ wisdom. The police, in particular, expressed great happiness and praised the Muslims’ actions. They met with the Muslims to thank them. The lack of conflict is seen as a personal achievement for the police, and undoubtedly, the officers wanted this accomplishment to be noted in their records.

When the Seerat Committee of Pune decided to change the date, they immediately published this news in Marathi newspapers. This informed Muslims across Maharashtra. As a result, in other locations where both processions were scheduled on the same day, Muslims also rescheduled their procession. Ultimately, the entire state of Maharashtra was protected from potential loss of life and property.

The most effective way to prevent communal riots is through this method of avoidance. Whenever this strategy has been used, conflicts have been prevented. It is the only way to diffuse the bomb of discord. Riots always happen because of anger, not conspiracy.