Assam: Hindu Employer Arranges Roza-Iftar for Muslim Employee amid Lockdown, Lauded

Majuli, April 28, 2020:

For Jeherul Islam, a mason from Bilasipara in Dhubri, Assam, the lockdown posed several challenges. Firstly, the snapping off of inter-district travel meant that he would have to spend the holy month of Ramzan away from his family. Secondly, the extra expenses incurred in the month would have probably burnt a hole in his pocket, especially at a time when income sources for the daily-wage workers have dried up.

ALSO READ: Assam: Haflong Labourer, Unable to Buy Fish for Daughter amid Lockdown, Commits Suicide

However, for Islam, his Hindu employer, Bipul Baruah came like a messiah in disguise. Now, Islam is being helped in observing the rituals by the family of his employers family.

https://www.facebook.com/ne.inside/videos/831534190675597/

Recently, videos of the young mazdoor consuming a sumptuous iftaar meal, laid down by his employers with eye-popping decorum, have surfaced on social media platforms. In videos of the episode which are currently breaking the internet after being shared on social media, Islam's employers can be seen spreading a seleng chadar where he sits proudly.

ALSO READ: 16-Year-Old Teen Girl in Assam’s Bongaigaon Tests Positive for COVID-19

Before him, platters of food are laid are laid down neatly. Interestingly, as Islam breaks his fast, his employer's wife, bows her head in veneration. Next to the platters, his owners have placed a gamusa (Assamese ethnic garment) on a sorai (stand), as a token of respect.

Naturally, these pictures and videos of the worker enjoying an iftar meal in the cozy comfort of his owners' home has been lauded by netizens. Amid rising communal tensions in India after the Tablighi Jamaat incident, this simple incident has sparked hope in the hearts of the people of the Assam. A timely message of bonhomie and togetherness has been spread by this simple act of kindness, that could possibly make a change for the better in the days to come.

Support Inside Northeast (InsideNE), an independent media platform that focuses on Citizen-centric stories from Northeast India that are surprising, inspiring, cinematic and emotionally relevant.