Hyderabad: Faithful revel in Milad Juloos, celebrate the birth of Prophet
HYDERABAD: The postponed Milad-un-Nabi juloos procession, to mark the birth anniversary of key Islamic religious figure Prophet Mohammed, went off without a hitch on Sunday across the city, with the faithful undertaking marches and holding public celebrations.
“Religious heads of the Milad central committees decided to hold the procession on Sunday as, otherwise, the procession would have coincided with the Ganesh Chaturthi processions (Shobayatra and immersion) on September 28,” said Maulana Quadari, a religious leader said.
While they decided to postpone the march, the faithful, on September 28, after attending the kutba at the Macca Masjid, were allowed ‘dildaar (viewing)’ of Asar-e-Mubarak, possessions of the Prophet, at the Masjid premises.
On Sunday, thousands of Muslims gathered at the Macca Masjid to join the main procession. The faithful, on foot, bikes and cars, were seen marching through Charminar holding religious green flags, as well as the Indian Tricolour.
City police commissioner C.V. Anand, who visited Charminar during the procession, addressed the participants. “Hyderabad city police ke janib se, Mai Musalman Bhayon ka tahe dil se shukariah adah karta hu, julus ko postpone karne ke liye, police app sab ke saath hai. (On behalf of the police, I thank all my Muslim brethren for postponing the procession. We, the police, are here to serve you),” he said.
The main procession started at 1 pm, after the dua, from the Macca Masjid, going to Quadri Chaman, Ghulam Murtuza Colony and Shamsheergunj. “It passed through Falaknuma, Aliabad Circle, Lal Darwaza, Charminar, Gulzar Houz, Madina, Chatta Bazaar, Nayapul Bridge, Salar Jung Museum, Purani Haveli, Etebar Chowk and culminating at the Moghulpura Ground at 6 pm,” Milad committee member Saif Pasha said.
Besides the Old City, processions were also held at Nampally, Bazaarghat, Masab Tank, First Lancer, Humayunnagar, Mehdipatnam, Golconda, Uppal, Tank Bund, Bowenpally, Musheerabad and Narayanguda and joined the main procession.
At the Dewan Devdi Kaman, more processions from Dabeerpura Darwaza, Balsathiket, Kotla Alija, Noor Khan Bazaar, Talabkatta, Shaheennagar, Yakutpura, Rein Bazaar, Malakpet, Saidabad, Moghulpura, Chanchalguda, Kurmaguda and Azampura joined in.
“The Milad committee took the right decision to postpone juloos, making it convenient for both the communities and the police too,” said Mohammed Abdulla Quadri, who took part in the procession.
Besides the processions, the faithful, after Fajr namaaz, served zafrani biryani and sweet fruits to the participants and also to the needy. Many were also seen distributing clothes and household items to the needy.
Religious heads, in their speeches, narrated the life of Prophet Mohammed, holding up his decisions, justice, simplicity and sacrifices as a way of life for the youth.
While the police were extensively deployed in sensitive areas, the processions went off without a hitch. Traffic police were also pressed into service to ensure smooth movement of traffic and processions.
Most establishments in Old City remained closed, while the Charminar was shut to tourists from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The police said that the special branch and IT Cell also kept a close watch on social media platforms to check any incendiary posts, at the ICCC and other command centres in Cyberabad and Rachakonda.
