Lockdown Heroes: Siblings Donate Wheat Worth ₹2.5 Lakh To The Needy

Two brothers in Madhya Pradesh's Guna district toiled away on their wheat field for months tending the crop with the hope of making a decent profit. But with the coronavirus pandemic striking terror and bringing the country to a standstill, they decided to donate the entire harvest to the state so that the poor and the needy can be fed.

The duo, Riyaz Zaman and Mustafa Qamar Zaman, approached the Guna district administration and expressed interest in donating their standing crop in an area of 25 bighas (around 6 acres) to the state.

The district administration swung into action immediately. Led by Guna district collector S. Vishwanathan, the local administration took possession of the land and started harvesting the crop.

"They are devout Muslims belonging to the Bohra community, and they wanted to do their bit for the state and the country. Hence, they dedicated the crop with the condition that this would be distributed among the poor," says R. B. Sindoskar, the deputy collector of Guna, who is overseeing the harvest of the crop.

Talking to Reader's Digest, Sindoskar said that the crop once cut would yield more than 100 quintals of wheat, which will be donated to the state granary.

The crop in the field located in the Bhullan Pura area of the Guna district, Sindoskar says, has almost been cut, and it is being transported to a granary in Guna. Sindoskar estimates that at today's rates, the wheat would cost around ₹2 lakh.

The teachings of the Bohra Muslim community religious head Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin—that helping those in need is the greatest service to humankind—was the inspiration behind the two brothers’ charitable effort.

"They have set an example for others,” says Sindoskar, also adding that the wheat will indeed be distributed for the cause the brothers intended.