India, April 1 -- It was an Eid with a difference - as namazis emerged from the masjid in the dense pocket of Chirag Nagar in Ghatkopar after finishing their Eid prayers, five Hindus clad in white caps waited to greet them with red roses. Pleasantly surprised, the congregation invited the Hindus into the mosque.

The initiative for this unusual display of communal harmony came from 64-year-old Sharad Kadam, former Mumbai president of the Rashtriya Sewa Dal, an organisation for youth set up by Congress Socialists soon after Independence. Wardha-based Gandhian Vijay Tambe suggested to Kadam that they wear markers of their Hindu identity. Accordingly, they chose to wear the white caps which are worn by Warkaris as well as Gandhians.

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