Women inmates unite to observe Navratri, roza in district jail

BAREILLY: They are serving time at Bareilly jail for different crimes. They belong to diverse religious backgrounds. Their religious beliefs may be divergent but faith in the Almighty seems to have united them. Several women prisoners of different faiths have joined their Hindu fellow inmates in observing Navratri fast. The latter too observe roza at the time of Ramzan. This kind of communal amity may be unusual in a jail but authorities say it is a spontaneous gesture on the part of the inmates to observe one another’s customs. As deputy superintendant, district jail, Bareilly, Nayantara Banerji puts it, “We too join them at the time of prayers and aarti in order to make them feel that we support their initiative. This year, around 37 out of the 85 women convicts are observing a fast and we have made special arrangements for their food and snacks.” Be it 45-year-old Ruksana or murder convict Samina, they are all observing Navratri fasts inside jail. So is 83-year-old Ajayab Bano, a five-time Namaazi and life convict. Likewise, Lovely of Meergunj, convicted for murder, also observes roza during Ramzan. Joining them is 47-year-old Nand Kumari of Nepal, a Christian, lodged in jail for smuggling drugs. Take the case of 40-year-old Ruksana, a resident, Bairam Nagar under Shergarh police station who has observing Navratri fast and performing puja and aarti for the past two years. Facing trial on murder charges, the woman was two-and-a-half months pregnant when she was brought here and later delivered a boy in the jail hospital. Talking to TOI she said, “Hum to Navratri mein vrata (fast) aur Ramzaan mein roza (fast) —dono rakhtey hain. Dono mein sabab (benevolence of God) milta hai. Allah and Bhagwan ek hi hai aur dono mein baarabar ki taaqat hai.(I keep fast during Navratri and Ramzaan. Performing earns piety of Almighty. For me, Allah and Bhagwan are same with equal powers)” When asked whether she is aware about Hindu customs and religious beliefs, she replied, “I only know Hindu Goddesses (deviyan) and have immense faith in them.” Joining her in observing the Navratrii fast is murder convict Samina from Meergunj tehsil. Providing them moral support is 83-year-old life convict, Ajayab Bano, who joins her Hindu inmates during prayers and aarti. Their Hindu counterparts too join them with equal fervour in keeping a fast during the holy month of Ramzan, say jail authorities. Hindu convicts Shoma Chatterji and Gomti Ganwar also keep roza along with Ruksana and other Muslim inmates and join them in prayers symbolically. They feel if their Muslim sisters have so much respect for their belief and faith then “why should we not join them during Ramzan”, said Gomti Gangwar. Another example of communal bonding is the case of two convicts from Nepal — Ram Kali and Nisha —lodged in jail under drug peddling charges. They too observe roza for the entire month of Ramzaan even though they are Christians by faith.
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