Holi and Eid in 1898.

Photo: a Sabil set up outside the Jama Masjid. This is from Maynard Owen William’s piece on Delhi in the 1940s.

This post draws on a recent moment of festivity in Delhi, with Holi just passed and Ramzan coming to a close. It’s a reflection on how the past has the potential to inform the future.

In March 1898, a display of communal harmony unfolded in Delhi, as Hindus and Muslims came together to celebrate Eid and Holi. On March 2, Hindus shared sherbet and sweets with Muslims emerging from the Jama Masjid after Eid prayers. Two weeks later, on March 15, during Holi, Muslims reciprocated the gesture. They set up sabils (refreshment stalls), presented attar (perfume), garlanded Hindus, and sprinkled rose water over them. Couplets by the Persian poet Hafez, celebrating peace and friendship, were prominently displayed on the sabils. Newspapers of the time hailed these festivities as a ‘reunion’ of the two communities. Such celebrations had overcome the growing violence that was characterised by the politicisation of religious identities that was a hallmark of the later 19^th century. They had also given the colonial government a bit of a reprieve policing communities during the time of the ‘plague scares’ of the 1890s.

 

As I mentioned above, in these polarised times, this moment can act as a reminder of how the past can be instructive for the future.  

 

See you next Friday.

 

 

References: 

Punjab Native Newspaper Reports, 1898-1900, p. 156 and 191