Fireworks were also carried out in several parts of the city to celebrate the moment.
Along with Lucknow, community leaders in the city of Agra, Kanpur and Allahabad also celebrated and distributed sweets make the occasion special. Indian Army on Wednesday night conducted surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC), exactly 10 days after the Uri terror attack.
A group of Muslims held a rally in support of India and the Army after Friday prayers in Dankaur village of Greater Noida, Times of India reported. Holding placards and banners, they marched in the village and expressed their support to the country.
Local people also raised pro-India and anti-Pak slogans and burnt Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's effigy. Around 200 people joined the rally and visited different spots and market areas and returned to the same spot. The people also burnt the effigy of Nawaz Sharif.
Nasir Hussain, a local resident, said that usually people suspect the loyalty of Muslims in a situation like war with Pakistan. Local Muslims offered prayer and then conducted a rally from Tauliyan Masjid to the village.
The Muslim reaction came amid growing Hindu Extremism in India under Modi's Administration. Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come into power in May 2014, BJP's discriminatory policies towards Indian Muslims have alarmed the 180 million Indian Muslim community.
According to J.S. Bandukwala Indian Muslims are in a state of panic because of the unfortunate role of Hindutva fanatics in the last two years such as Ghar wapsi (forced conversion of Muslims to Hindu faith), Go to Pakistan taunt to Muslims and Maharashtra's ban on beef eating. Likewise, Bahu Lao, Beti Bachao programs (this is a campaign planned by Hindu outfit Bajrang Dal to encourage young Hindu men to marry non-Hindu girls), compulsory education of Geeta, Maha Bharat and Hindu literature in educational institutes and killing many Muslims in the name of religion or false allegations of eating beef are the actions intended to promote cultural violence in the all segments of Indian society.
Under BJP administration, Muslims and other religious minorities are threatened as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Dharm Jagran Samiti (DSJ) has a plan of ethnic cleansing of all Muslims and non-Muslims before 2021 census.
According to a report produced by a committee led by a former chief justice of India, Rajender Sachar, Muslims are now worse off in India than the Dalits, or those once called untouchables. Some 52 per cent of Muslim men are unemployed, compared with 47 per cent of Dalit men. Among Muslim women, 91 per cent are unemployed, compared with 77 per cent of Dalit women.
(Article changed on October 3, 2016 at 18:48)
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