This weekend, Rajasthan experienced an outburst of feelings and fear. As tensions near the Gulf cities worsened, a group of devotees from Jodhpur got stuck in Dubai as their return flights were unexpectedly cancelled, and the Shia community in Ajmer declared three days of mourning for the alleged demise of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei in a US-Israel strike.
The Ajmer Shia community demand three-day periods of mourning
On Sunday, the Shia community declared that there will be three days of mourning. However, the decision was shared by community leader Syed Asif Ali, who has urged everyone to keep the peace and stay away from celebration at this time. He asked everyone to express their sadness in a respectful and peaceful manner. The next moment after the declaration, at the Dargah in Dorai and Taragrah in Ajmer, meetings to convey sympathy were held in both places. Thousands of people gathered to pay their condolences and express their prayers. As the family gathered to think about and support one another, the mood remained calm but deeply emotional.
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Jodhpur devotees got stuck in Dubai
At the same time, a group of Jodhpur devotees found themselves in another terrifying circumstance. They had travelled to Dubai to attend a religious “katha” which was organised by Saint Amritram Maharaj from Bada Ramdwara, Soorsagar. The spiritual program was held from February 24 to 28. On Saturday night, the group was supposed to fly back to India. But before arriving at the airport, they were told that their flight had been cancelled due to reports of attacks in the area of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Amritram Maharaj said in his video message from Dubai that they had taken a spiritual journey and were scheduled to return home via aeroplane. He said, “However, flights were cancelled due to the attacks near Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and we are stranded." Although he said that the organisation is receiving help from the Maheshwari community members in Dubai. However, the cost of hotels has increased drastically as a result of the sudden travel halt, which causes their worries.
Maharaj is appealing to the Indian government to step in and make conditions to ensure their rapid and safe return to India.
