Nation must emulate Malappuram’s communal harmony, says Kanthapuram

Kerala Muslim Jamaat (KMJ) president Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar has said that the country should emulate Malappuram in several ways, particularly its spirit of communal harmony and care for fellow beings.

He was addressing a reception accorded to his Kerala Yatra at Areekode in the district on Wednesday, the seventh day of the yatra after it kicked off from Kasargod on January 1 raising the slogan “With Humanity”.

The yatra, taken out ahead of the centenary celebrations of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, will conclude in Thiruvananthapuram on January 16 after covering other districts.

Mr. Aboobacker Musliar said that the development and welfare activities carried out in Malappuram with people’s participation were models for the entire world. However, he lamented attempts by certain vested interests to vilify Malappuram by portraying it as a district rife with communal bias.

“Anyone who has visited Malappuram even once will understand the reality: the warmth and spirit of coexistence of its people,” he said, urging society to salute and adopt the positive examples of the district rather than disparage its people.

A large crowd attended the reception at Areekode, which featured a ‘centenary guard’ parade. Palestine Ambassador Abdullah Abu Shawesh inaugurated the function. KMJ secretary Ponmala Abdul Khadir Musliar presided.

Apart from KMJ leaders, Aryadan Shoukath, MLA, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member A. Vijayaraghavan, Indian Union Muslim League leader and District Panchayat president P.A. Jabbar Haji, and Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church priest Fr. Thomas Kurian Thazhayil were among those who attended the function.

Earlier, speaking to mediapersons in Malappuram, yatra vice-captains Syed Ibrahim Khaleel Bukhari Thangal and Perodu Abdurahman Saqafi highlighted the district’s development challenges and called for a reorganisation of certain districts.

“The demand for the bifurcation of a district should not be seen through a religious lens. This is not an issue unique to Malappuram,” said Mr. Thangal. “Given the population growth across the State over the past five decades, several districts need to be reorganised and bifurcated,” he said.

They also demanded that Government Medical College Hospital at Manjeri be upgraded with better facilities and that Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University and the Aligarh Muslim University Centre at Perinthalmanna be developed with improved infrastructure. They also called for an end to regional educational disparities and effective measures to address wildlife-related problems in the eastern parts of Malappuram.