Students celebrating Chhath festival at the centenary gate of Jamia Milia islamia (Courtesy DNN 24)
New Delhi
In a first such move, Chhath Pooja, a festival in which people offer thanksgiving to Sun God for its bounties that sustain life on earth, was celebrated in the Jamia Millia Islamia University campus in New Delhi.
Students from different parts of the country and professing different faiths participated in the celebration and rituals. Many students could not go home due to the heavy academic scheducle to celebrate the day with their families.
According to a report by Arsalan Shamsi for DNN 24, the celebration offered a show of the spirit of unity and the ethos of cultural inclusiveness of the young students of the University.
Jamia Milia Students performing Chhath Puja
Many students whose families celebrate the Chhath Puja in a grandiose was, thus found a way to connect with their cultural roots and celebrate the festival with others. Their efforts demonstrated the inclusive and diverse nature of Jamia Millia Islamia, a place where students from across the country are studying while preserving their traditions and heritage.
On the fourth day, on November 20, students from various departments performed puja at the centenary gate of Jamia Millia Islamia. The program was organized under the banner of Purvanchal Sahyata Samiti which was chaired by Divya Jyoti Tripathi from Department of Economics, Hanzala Khan from Department of Sociology, Pushkar Kumar from Department of Political Science, Aryan Tripathi, Aditya Anand, Amit Singh while Parveen Kumar from Mass Media participated.
Jamia Milia Students performing Chhath Puja
Arian Tripathi, a student of Mass Media, said that the festival was celebrated to spread unity, harmony and brotherhood among our classmates. We had a great time and didn’t feel like we were away from our family. Jamia is like our new home and the people here are my brothers and sisters.
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Pushkar Kumar, another student of Political Science Department, said that this is not the first time that we are celebrating a festival in Jamia. Earlier this year, we celebrated Holi and a few days before, we had a Diwali festival where we distributed sweets and lit candles and diyas.