Source: India News Channel

Wire Service: IANS

http://www.123bharath.com/news/index.php?action=fullnews&id=26518

On October 7, 2004 the Indo-Asian News Service reported, "A Muslim shrine, a Hindu temple and an ancient palace are being decked with millions of flowers as a special three-day festival of Hindu-Muslim unity begins in the Indian capital Thursday. Phool Walon Ki Sair (meaning 'walk of the florists' in Hindi) is a festival that has continued from the time of India's medieval Muslim rulers, the Mughals, who encouraged the celebrations as a means of bonding between their subjects. The British colonial rulers stopped it in 1942 to propagate their divide and rule policy. But in 1961, the first prime minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, revived it. 'This festival is a great event of the love that Hindus and Muslims have shared for centuries in this country,' Usha Kumar whose family has organised the festival for 40 years told IANS."