CHANDIGARH — In a heartwarming and remarkable act of kindness, a Sikh family has donated its land to the Muslim community for constructing a mosque in a village of Punjab’s Malerkotla district.
Former Sarpanch of Umarpura village, Sukhjinder Singh Noni, and his brother Avninder Singh donated a prime piece of land measuring 5.5 biswas for the mosque’s construction, reported Indian Express.
Malerkotla is the only district in Punjab with a significant Muslim population that remained in India after the Partition in 1947. The region, once a princely state ruled by a Nawab, enjoyed special protection from Sikhs during the communal tensions of 1947. This protection stemmed from an earlier Nawab’s protest against the bricking alive of the two younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, by the Nawab of Sirhind in 1704.
Sukhjinder Singh said the Muslim community in the village lacked a place of worship, and his family had pledged to provide land for the mosque.
“We have around 30 per cent Muslim population in our village, and they had to travel to other villages to pray. My family had promised the Muslim community here that they would have a mosque, so my brother and I donated this land,” he said, adding that the land is valued at around Rs 7–8 lakh.
On January 12, the first bricks of the mosque were laid by Punjab’s Shahi Imam, Mohammad Usman Rehman Ludhianvi, in the presence of community members. “This Sikh family has spread a message of love and humanity through their generous donation,” said Smit Singh, a Congress leader who contested the 2022 Assembly elections from the Amargarh constituency.
Other Sikh villagers have also contributed to the mosque’s construction, including Tejwant Singh, who donated Rs 2 lakh, and Ravinder Singh Grewal, who gave Rs 1 lakh.
