Malappuram: Yet another event reaffirming Kerala's secular credentials has emerged from the Malappuram district where the wedding of a Hindu couple was held at a temple with the blessings of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
All the arrangements for the wedding of Geetha and Vishnu at the Sree Ammancherikkavu Bhagavathi Temple was made by the Muslim Youth League committee of the 12th ward of the Vengara Panchayat in the north Kerala district.
Geetha was a resident of Rose Manor Short-stay Home at Manattiparambu in Vengara. A short-stay home is a facility that provides temporary accommodation and supports in the rehabilitation of women suddenly rendered homeless.
“Today was a graceful day,” wrote local MLA and IUML General Secretary PK Kunhalikutty on his Facebook page. He was on the guests list, alongside IUML state president Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal. “The unity and spotless camaraderie of my land was on witness today in the courtyard of the temple,” Kunhalikutty said.
Vengara and Hindu-Muslim unity
Last year, Vengara hosted a wedding of another resident of Rose Manor. This time, when the Youth League representatives approached the temple committee to discuss arrangements for the wedding of Geetha and Vishnu, there was no hesitation.
Temple priest Anand Namboothiri solemnised the wedding. Even political rivalries were put aside to make the wedding a celebration of the land as CPM's Malappuram district secretary E M Mohandas and District Congress Committee President V S Joy were also in attendance.