Amid some disturbing incidents in the country, Muslims in Bihar have set a new example of religious harmony before society by carrying the bier of a Hindu member on their shoulders to the cremation centre and then performing his last rites with the traditional customs. The deceased Ramdeo Sah, 75, had stayed with the Muslim family for 25 years and met his end discharging his duty there.

The heart-warming scene was on display in the Raja Bazar locality of Patna, the capital of Bihar state, on Saturday. Everyone watched with bewilderment and stood still when Mohammad Arman and his family members gave shoulders to the bier and chanted “Ram Naam Satya Hai (Lord Ram is truth)” to cremate his body at the local Gulbi Ghat to fulfill his last wish.

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Sah had reached Rizwan, a resident of Samanpura locality, looking for odd jobs some 25 years back. He was also hungry then. Without wasting a moment, Rizwan served him food and then employed him as an accountant at his cloth shop. Since then, he became a part of this Muslim family and never left him since there was none in his family.

“You are my son and your family is my family. Please perform my last rites after my death,” was how Ramdeo had once told Rizwan when asked about his whereabouts at a cool moment. Since then, he became an integral part of his family as he enjoyed his Muslim employer’s company too much.

Earlier this week, the septuagenarian man developed health complications and was under treatment by a doctor but couldn’t survive. Very soon news of his death reached the Rizwan family after which they not only gave shoulders to his bier but also carried his body to the local crematorium to perform his last rites on the bank of river Ganga.

This incident has come as a slap on the face of some fanatics working overtime to create bitterness between the two communities who have stayed with peace and communal harmony for centuries. Fresh trouble started after a BJP spokesperson’s uncalled-for comments on Prophet Muhammad which culminated in some disturbing incidents reported from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.