Living in West Bengal for three months as a teenager influenced my life greatly and continues to do so to this day. While serving among people in poverty I had never seen before, I first heard Mahatma Gandhi’s, “Live simply so others may simply live.”
While walking down a Kolkata street my walking partners said, “We’ve got to get out of here now.” So we hurried our way in a different direction. After the run to safety, I asked, “What is this all about?”
“The group of people coming our way on the street are Muslims on their way to make an animal sacrifice. The group behind us are Hindus who include the same animals in their worship. There will be a bloody battle between the two groups today.”
Bengali Muslims are the second largest Muslim ethnic group. May the Lord hear our prayers on their behalf.