A Muslim wedding ceremony taking place inside a Hindu temple is making headlines in India.
It happened last week in Rampur district of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, where a civil engineer married a tech expert according to the Islamic wedding rituals. The Satyanarayan Temple complex is the district office of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and run by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – a dominant Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation.
Reports in Indian media suggest the Nikkah ceremony was held by a Muslim cleric in the presence of both the Muslims and the Hindus.
Vishva Hindu Parishad and RSS are often accused of being anti-Muslim. But such an event is being taken as “a step towards harmony and brotherhood” in India where Muslims, who although make a large minority but have been facing religious and communal persecution since pre-Partition era.
