Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday vowed that he would get the ‘Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb’, the unity of Muslims and Hindus living in peace and harmony, back to Telangana that it had been once known for.
At the State-hosted ‘Iftar’ held in Nizam College grounds, he recalled the Mahatma Gandhi saying on his first visit to Telangana that North Indian States should learn the ‘Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb’ from the Telangana region. He said a beginning was made to bring the ‘tehzeeb’ back and with the blessings of the Almighty it would be achieved.
It was not just the ‘tehzeeb’, the communal harmony, he said, pointing out that the fledgling State was, within a year of its birth, firmly on the path to development.
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“Power-cut is already a thing of the past and I will ensure that from next year, you won’t even face shortage of water for drinking and for irrigation,” he promised.
Mr. Rao, who spent close to an hour at the ‘Iftar’, mingled freely with VIP invitees and after breaking the fast, waited patiently as others, including Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali, offered prayers. Among those with him on the dais were Chairman of the Legislative Council K. Swamy Goud, Home Minister Nayani Narsimha Reddy and Mufti Khaleel Ahmed, Chancellor of the Jamia Nizamia Seminary.
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As the time approached, the Mufti read out verses from the Quran and finally chanted prayers in silence. As the clock struck 7 p.m., he announced that people could break their fast before offering ‘Namaaz’.
The Mufti fed Mr. Rao a date, an act that was reciprocated and soon the VIPs fed one another, before digging into the sumptuous spread that included ‘haleem’, biryani, ‘kheer’, ‘Qubani ka Meetha’ and the typical Hyderabadi delicacy the ‘Double ka Meetha.