Kazipet Dargah: Where Faiths Unite Beyond Caste, Religion

Kazipet:For devotees at Kazipet Dargah, faith has no caste or religion. Hindus, Muslims and Christians converged in large numbers for the annual Urs celebrations on Monday night, turning the shrine into a vibrant symbol of communal harmony and brotherhood.

The gathering of jiyareens and devotees from different parts of Telangana and other states once again highlighted Telangana’s distinctive Ganga-Jamuna Tehzeeb. People from different faiths jointly offered prayers and participated in the celebrations.

Revenue minister and Urs in-charge Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, minorities welfare minister Mohammed Azharuddin, endowments minister Konda Surekha and Warangal West MLA Naini Rajender Reddy, among others, visited the dargah and offered prayers.

Ponguleti said the participation of people from different religions at the Kazipet Dargah without any barriers was a matter of great happiness. The shrine had evolved beyond being a place of worship for one community and become a spiritual centre for people of all faiths, he noted.

He praised the dargah’s spiritual head Kusoor Pasha Saheb and the other organisers for conducting the Urs on a grand scale.

The minister directed the district collector and municipal commissioner to prepare comprehensive proposals for development of the dargah in coordination with MLA Naini Rajender Reddy. The government would provide the required funds considering the importance of the shrine, he said.

Ponguleti promised that he as the Urs in-charge minister would ensure that development and infrastructure works are completed before the next Urs. He would also take up the issue with chief minister Revanth Reddy for sanction of the required funds.

Minority welfare minister Azharuddin said love, affection, unity and brotherhood were the need of the hour. Society and the country could progress only when people worked together, he said, adding that the Kazipet Urs was a striking reflection of Telangana’s Ganga-Jamuna Tehzeeb.

Minister Konda Surekha said Telangana had always been known for religious harmony and brotherhood. People belonging to different castes and religions had been participating in the Kazipet Urs for hundreds of years, she said.

“First, we are human beings; caste and religion come later,” she said, calling upon people not to allow caste and religious differences to obstruct the development of the state and the country.

MLA Naini Rajender Reddy said the district administration, elected representatives and dargah authorities had worked in coordination to make arrangements for the Urs. Special attention was paid to drinking water, electricity, sanitation, traffic management and security.

He said drinking water facilities had been arranged at a cost of around `40 lakh for the jiyareens visiting the dargah. Free meals were also being provided to devotees arriving from different states.

Naini said several proposals for the development of the dargah had been submitted to the government about one-and-a-half years ago and were also brought to the CM’s notice. Most of the proposals had reached the final stage and their implementation would provide better infrastructure and facilities to devotees, he said.

MLAs Prakash Reddy and K.R. Nagaraju, MLC Baswaraju Saraiah, Telangana Mahila Congress president Errabelli Swarna, dargah spiritual head Kusoor Pasha Saheb, district and police officials, officials of various departments and Congress leaders and workers participated in the celebrations.