Faizan Khan / Agra

The small towns of India can teach a lesson or two to those fighting in the name of religion in the country.

In Agra’s Lohamandi, a gateway made of red sandstone called Chhinga-Modi stands as a testimony to the common man’s respect for all religions and inclusive traditions.

The area has a mixed population of both Hindus and Muslims and yet it has been engulfed in communal tension on any issue pertaining to either religion.

On one side of the gateway is located a temple and on the other a tomb of an unknown Sufi. Local have faith and respect for both. Residents not only participate in each other's social programs but also in religious festivals.

At one end of the gat, a passer-by can hear the recitation of Hanuman Chalisa and a little distance away he can get to hear the recitation of the Quran.

Shaukat Ali

Shaukat Ali, a resident of Sir kee Mandi, says at the time of the demolition of the Babri masjid in 1992 the country was burning with communal hatred, the locals there supported each other and consciously worked for harmony and amity.

He said, “people here have close bonds. The juxtaposed temple and the tomb give a message of harmony and brotherhood among people.”

Sapan Bansal

Loham

Sapan Bansal

Lohamandi resident Sapan Bansal said that when major communal riots took place in the country and the people were thirsty for each other's blood, the people here were showed a lot of love to each other and everyone here said due to the chaos happening elsewhere, we should not lose our harmony.

Rohit Shrivastava

Bagh Ram Sahay resident Rohit Shrivastava said that the people of this corner of the city do live with great love and affection in the spirit of the co-existing temple and the tomb. “When we go to temple for worship, we also light a lamp at the tomb. We never understand the difference between the religions,” he said.

Aqib Khan

Aqib Khan, a resident of Pul Chhinga-Modi, said that due to the politics of some people the issue of Hindu-Muslim is raised. ‘Such people should learn from this gate itself. Here the walls of religion are broken. There was never any dispute about both religious places built at one place. We all take care of each other's religious sites. If we join Bhandara, (community feasting at temples); they join Urs. There has never been any different.”

Sher Shah Suri built the gate

Historian Rajiv Saxena says Islam Shah, son of Muslim ruler Sher Shah Suri constructed 16gates for the security of the city, of which only two gates remain.

One is the gate near Hariparvat and the other Chinga-Modi bridge of Lohmandi. The Archaeological Survey of India has ignored this monument and it’s being looked after by the locals. These gates were renovated by Raja Jai ​​Singh of Jaipur in 1721-22.

Regional resident and former District President of Congress Dinesh Babu Sharma said that our Agra is called the city of reconciliation. People here live with great love among themselves. Man of every religion comes to the temple-tomb built on the door Chhinga-Modi.