Al Haqeeqa
Shivaji Khairnar was nine in the early 1990s when riots erupted in his Mumbai neighborhood, claiming at least 900 lives. A Hindu, he was told not to play with Muslim children and saw firsthand the developing fissures between the two communities.
That bitter childhood experience, rather than fuel sectarian hatred, turned Khairnar into a fervent proponent of interfaith harmony. Twelve years ago he began fasting for one day during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“I thought this was a good way of sending out a message,” said Khairnar, 36, a social worker who fasted on Monday, May 10, the 27th day of Ramadan known as Laylat Al Qadr, or the night of power. “If a Muslim can stand alongside me for a Hindu festival, then can’t I also fast with them?”
Khairnar isn’t the only Hindu who fasts during Ramadan, the ninth month on the lunar calendar that Muslims observe with prayer and reflection and fasting from dawn until dusk. The 29- or 30-day period ends with the sighting of the crescent moon, celebrated as Eid, which this year falls on May 12.
Across the country, many non-Muslims observe Ramadan fasting for reasons ranging from solidarity with friends to gestures of fraternity and gratitude and as a means of introspection. Like Khairnar, some fast for just a day, some for several days and others for the entire month.
This year’s Ramadan came as a deadly second wave of COVID-19 descended on India, forcing restrictions on religious gatherings that are typical for the season, including the iftar parties where people gather to break their daily fast. This year’s Ramadan also comes against a broader backdrop of growing Islamophobia and sectarian tensions in a country.
“Islamophobia may be increasing because of the discourse of the media, politicians and the refusal of the state to act against hate crimes,” said Irfan Engineer, director of the Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism. “But the syncretic traditions continue,” he said, referring to the interfaith observances of Ramadan, among other practices.
Indian Muslims have long had syncretic religious observances, finding correspondences especially in the Bhakti and Sufi traditions and in a variety of localized practices in different regions of the country. These include Hindus taking part in Islamic New Year processions or worshipping Muslim saints and, likewise, Muslims celebrating Diwali or venerating Indian deities.
“India has been such a melting pot of different cultures,” said Jayshree Shukla, a heritage buff and amateur photographer who started fasting in Ramadan in 2017. “Now politicians stir up (sectarian) waters, but basically there has been kinship and friendship.”
Shukla, 53, did her first full monthlong fast this year, having fasted in previous years for shorter periods. As usual, she made it a point to photograph her feasts and post them online.
“I’m not very religious. This is strictly with a social purpose, to build bridges, to reduce hostility,” she said. “As the world got more polarized I felt this was an important gesture of goodwill across communities.”
