Shivamogga, KARNATAKA  :

Shivamogga:

At 62, Mohammed Anwar Khadri is an unassuming social worker who lives in a small house in Tippu Nagar, Shivamogga.

Khadri is well-known here for his more popular activity of hosting mass marriages for poor Muslims. He took his initiative to a more personal level by getting his daughter married in such a programme. On April 24, Karnataka saw one of the largest mass marriages, with 163 couples tying the knot in a single ceremony.

An agriculturist and owner of a small timber yard, Khadri quit his comfortable profession two decades ago and became a social worker after making a promise to his “baba”.

“Fifteen years ago, I visited Hazrath Qalander Shah Peer Baba at his abode, where lakhs of devotees come from across the country .I stayed there for almost a month as a devotee and volunteer. One day , Baba spoke to me personally and made me pledge that I would strive to wipe the tears of the poor, without discrimination. Today ,I am try to fulfill that promise by conducting mass weddings and living by his words. Atma mein parmatma (God lives in everyone’s soul),” he said.

The idea of a mass marriage came to him when on returning to Shivamogga, he saw a family begging on the roads to collect money for the marriage of their daughter.He recalled the promise made to the baba and spent his own money for the girl’s marriage.

“Since then, I have never looked back,” he said.

He now intends to conduct the marriage of 600 couples by No vember or December.

Running an association called Khalandariya, Khadri has roped in the wealthy members of his community to fund these mass marriages. The association has 2,000 members as of this year.

“We urge the rich to donate in kind for the mass marriage, and not in monetary terms,” said Khadri, who believes that money always discriminates one from the other.

While mass marriages are held without discrimination, Khadri and his association are nonetheless careful over who gets married and for what reason. “We seek a declaration from masjid committees, saying the bride and groom who apply are from their area and are unmarried, apart from scrutinizing ration cards, Aadhaar cards and school transfer certificates for the age proof. But more importantly , we take independent consent from both the boy and girl for the alliance,” he said.

The social activist proudly claimed that till date, none of the marriages had resulted in talaaq (divorce).
Following the screening, the families of the bride and groom are called separately to Shivamogga and given a choice of five sets of clothes, with a gold chain for the marriage ceremony . The families are given space to live with a locker, cot, bed and provisions for one month, besides food on the day of the marriage for the relatives of both families.

Beneficiaries of a mass marriage, Syed Javeed and Asma Banu, who live in a remote village in Bhadravathi, hailed Khadri as their messiah, saying they were proud of the reformer’s deeds for the community .

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bangalore / TNN / May 23rd, 2016