Migrants bringing pre-Partition era  mosques back to life in Amritsar, Tarn Taran 

Artisans and traders from West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have been instrumental in the revival of pre-Partition era mosques in Amritsar and Tarn Taran.

Muezzins reciting adhan, a call to join Namaz, in the Arabic five times a day can be heard over public address systems from minarets, adding to the vibrant pluralistic culture of the Punjabi society.

As per Punjab Waqf Board data, an honorarioum of Rs 6,000 a month is given to 56 Imams of as many mosques in these two districts. Abdul Noor, the Imam of Masjid Sikndar Khan, said his father Abdul Shakur had arrived in Amritsar about 15 years after the Partition. He was instrumental in reopening one of the biggest mosques in the walled city, Masjid Khairuddin. Now, over 30 mosques are operational in the walled city, including 11 on the way to the Golden Temple from the Hall gate, he said.

Following the Partition, people from the Kashmir valley formed the major constituent of the Muslim population here. Later, gold artisans migrated from West Bengal to form the majority in the city.

Ashwani Kumar, a jeweller, said Bengali artisans are accomplished in diamond and stone work on gold ornaments. He said they contributed to maintaining the sway of Amritsar’s gold market, which dated back to the Sikh Gurus' period, by supplying finished jewellery products to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. Bengali artisans are well versed in designing patterns popular in different parts of the country.

Instead of constructing new mosques they reopened those which have been lying unused since the Partition, he said. Abdullah, a skilled artisan from Hugli, a town in West Bengal, said his family settled here while they are maintaining relations in Bengal. He had migrated here in the late 1990s.

In the past six months, two mosques at Kairon market and Farid De Chowk were reopened. Mohammad Shah Alam, the Imam of mosque at Farid De Chownk area, said Jama Masjid dated back to 175 years.

Men dressed in Salwar kameez and wearing white colour skullcaps and women wearing ‘burqa’ are no longer a strange sight, especially in the main markets of Amritsar.

Muslim textile traders from UP and Bihar opened about 40 stores in Patti’s main bazaar, besides Guru Bazaar and Tehsil bazaar of Tarn Taran. They were instrumental in re-opening of pre-Partition mosques in these two areas.