All divisions end here. Elsewhere they may be daggers drawn, but there is no trace of the Telangana- Seemandhra feelings among the Haj pilgrims. Instead one finds a rare bonhomie between pilgrims of both the regions.
No bitterness and no animosity – rather one finds a picture of camaraderie at the Haj House.
“Bifurcation of the State is the last thing on our mind. We are proceeding on a sacred mission and there is no room for ill-feelings”, says a pilgrim from Nellore echoing the views of many others.
Everyday two to three flights are taking Haj pilgrims from the State to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. And each flight carries about 300 pilgrims from different parts of the State. They are seen exchanging pleasantries and sharing information about the Haj rituals.
“Nobody thinks on regional lines. Everybody is a Haji here and that’s what matters”, says Haj Committee Special Officer S.A. Shukoor.
Interestingly, the politicians who are visiting Haj House everyday to flag off the buses carrying the pilgrims are also found sinking their differences.
Leaders, who vociferously campaign for and against bifurcation of the State, are forced to come on a common platform to greet the pilgrims.
On September 25 when the first batch of pilgrims left, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is batting for united State and his party colleague and Telangana protagonist, V. Hanmantha Rao, shared the dais at Haj House.
The other day Labour Minister D. Nagender and TRS leader E. Rajender, came together to see off pilgrims although they hold different opinions on statehood for Telangana.
Majlis MLC Syed Amin Jaffery and Secunderabad MP Anjan Kumar Yadav also visited the Haj House.
So far Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha, Ministers, K. Jana Reddy, Pratap Reddy, Geeta Reddy, Baswaraj Saraiah, former minister Mohd. Ali Shabbir, TRS MLC Mehmood Ali, have dropped in to meet the pilgrims.
And everybody came leaving their political preferences outside. The comradeship does end just here.
Sometimes Andhra leaders are coming to Haj House to flag off buses, which carry mostly Telangana pilgrims while the Seemandhra pilgrims are seen off by Telangana leaders.
“It is a strange combination, but surprisingly everyone is holding their preferences on bifurcation of the State under check”, officials say.
In the world of diplomacy, some things are better left unsaid. Politicians sure know that.
