Muslim Singers Perform Songs on Hindu Sacred Text

January 11, 2006

Source: IBN Live

http://www.ibnlive.com/article.php?id=3559&section_id=3

On January 11, 2006 IBN Live reported, "A small village in Haryana has composed songs on the Mahabharat - penned not by the Hindu saint Ved Vyas - but by poet Sadullah Khan in the 18th century. The villagers in the evenings gather around a lantern to listen to Ayub Khan who sings these compositions. Khan is from Manikhera in the Muslim dominated Mewat region of Haryana. He is a Mirasi and belongs to the Meo community. Mirasis are a group of Muslim singers who sing Pandun Ke Kara or the Meo Muslim version of the Mahabharat. They trace their origin to Hindu gods and say that their conversion to Islam was through Sufi saints. 'We are Muslims. We have no hesitation in singing Hindu epics. We might belong to a different religion but the same blood flows through our veins and God is one and the same for everyone,' Khan said."