Silence is golden, even in case of religion: Sneha Sharma

For Sneha Sharma, 18, freedom of religion ends when it encroaches on anyone’s freedom to live a peaceful life. The second-year student at Delhi University does not practise any faith, even as she views religion as a path to attain peace.

Sharma, who lives in north Delhi’s GTB Nagar, expressed her grouse over the use of loudspeakers in a mosque close to her hostel. “This is exam time for us. We study the whole night and sleep early in the morning. My sleep gets disturbed everyday because of the morning prayer,” she said. 

“People should follow their religion in silence instead of making life hell for others. Extremism in the name of faith is intolerable,” she said.

In a similar vein, Shekhar Singh, a businessman, said: “We, too, have a mosque close to our home in east Delhi’s Patparganj. During the month of Ramazan, it becomes difficult for us to cope with the high-decibel sound that emanates from the loudspeakers installed there.” 

Sambhav Singh, 65, has the same complaint. “There is a mosque right behind our house in Jor Bagh. I have no issue with the azaan, since it lasts for hardly five minutes. But the situation becomes difficult for us when they play religious songs early in the morning during the month of Ramazan.”