Why Ramzan Felt Different This Year

During this Ramzan, another religious practice was turned into an offence: Breaking the fast, or iftar.

This must have been among the worst Ramzans that Muslims have faced in the country -- with reports coming in from BJP-ruled states of them having been punished simply for following practices essential during Ramzan: Offering namaz or breaking their fast.

The azaan, that used to be heard even louder during this month, has disappeared from many areas in Mumbai, thanks to the selective ban on loudspeakers in mosques.

Not content with criminalising their religious practices during their most sacred month, BJP governments found a way to spoil their biggest festival too.

Meat shops will be closed in many of these states on Ramzan Eid, which falls during Navratri.

Ever since the Yogi Adityanath government, and then the Haryana government, banned the common practice of Friday namaz being held on the roads, the sight of namaz being offered anywhere -- whether in public by just one Muslim, or in private by groups of Muslims -- has been treated as a crime.

The police is informed, an FIR follows swiftly.

Ramzan, a time when Muslims feel it their religious duty to offer namaz five times a day, was not going to be exempted from this unwritten ban.

This it happened in Malegaon, which has 34 per cent Muslims, that 7 men were charged for offering namaz inside the electricity department on February 25.

Having waited for an official for a long time, the men didn't want to leave his office for the evening namaz, lest the officer leave for the day.

Hence they decided to offer namaz in the office, an act caught on video and then made viral.

The charges against them included unlawful assembly and assault on a public servant.

The video of the incident shows that there was no public servant in that room.

Last week in Mumbai, three hawkers were charged with trespassing on railway property after they were caught on video offering namaz in a corner of a railway station.

It is significant that no action would have been taken against any of these Muslims had it not been for BJP leader Kirit Somaiya's pressure.

Ever since his party lost the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, this former MP has been on a mission to punish Muslims, who he blames for having waged a 'vote jehad' during those polls.

With Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis echoing these allegations, Somaiya's word has become law for the Maharashtra police.

So, under Somaiya's prodding, a large number of Muslims across Maharashtra have had cases filed against them for offences such as possessing 'fake' birth certificates; relaying the azaan on loudspeakers above permissible limits; and being 'illegal Bangladeshis/Rohingyas'.

But in Uttarakhand, it didn't need a Somaiya.

On February 24, Arvind Sharma, secretary of a local temple committee, thrashed an elderly labourer with sticks while the latter was offering namaz in an empty field.

The field happened to be opposite the temple, and Sharma was quoted in the press at one time saying that the field belonged to him, at another, that it was temple land.

After the video of the assault provoked outrage both online and among local Muslims, the Uttarakhand police filed an FIR against Sharma.

Given this animosity towards namaz, it was only to be expected that the Mumbai police would not give permission for a temporary shed to be built outside the airport for waiting taxi drivers to offer namaz during Ramzan.

The police told the court that this would be a 'security risk'.

But namaz had been offered in a shed till last year, when it was demolished during airport expansion work.

Airport authorities had even promised to rebuild it for Ramzan. Had there been any instance of security being breached then?

During this Ramzan, another religious practice was turned into an offence: Breaking the fast, or iftar.

Wanting to enjoy iftar in new surroundings rather than at home, young Muslims ventured outdoors, only to be punished.

In Pune, 15 men were assaulted with weapons on March 13 as they were preparing for iftar on the banks of a lake on the city's outskirts.

'Muslims could not sit at that spot,' they were reportedly told.

Villagers later told the media that Muslims had never come there for iftar.

With the police letting off those initially picked up, four days after the incident, nobody had been arrested.

Iftar Incidents Spark Outrage

Two days later, in the prime minister's constituency of Varanasi, 14 Muslims were sent to jail for breaking their fast on a boat on the Ganga.

The head of the BJP-affiliated Bharatiya Yuva Morcha filed a complaint alleging that the men had eaten chicken biryani and thrown the bones into the river, though there is no evidence of them having done so.

They were charged with hurting religious sentiments, promoting communal enmity and polluting the river.

Curiously, two days later, they were also charged with extortion.

Police alleged that they had forcibly taken control of the boat after threatening the owner.

However, the owner had earlier told the media that he had let out his boat to a man who often hired it, and had even refueled it during the ride.

Behind these increasing attacks on Muslims observing their religious practices in public view, is the notion that's been pushed openly since 2014: That Muslims don't belong here.

The 'unfinished business of Partition' -- a complete exchange of population -- has been referred to by the home minister himself.

But 14 per cent of 146 crores cannot be pushed out. The next best thing is to ensure that they remain invisible.

Earlier, some Hindus would mutter privately that there were too many Muslims frequenting public leisure spots. Now, this resentment is expressed openly on social media.

Fears of a 'Muslim takeover' are stoked by politicians and so-called religious leaders.

For those who think like this, the sight of a Muslim observing his religion in public is an affront to their idea of India. And they know the police will back them in avenging that affront.

Hopefully, that won't happen any more in Uttar Pradesh at least.

The Allahabad high court has, during the last few weeks, put the UP administration and the police on notice.

In a series of orders, it has restored the fundamental right of Christians and Muslims to pray, whether in their homes or in their mosques.

The UP government, which had successfully deprived Muslims of this right, has been told that not only do Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as Hindus, but that this right has to be enforced by those in charge.

Courts Step In On Rights

A similar restoration of rights came from Maharashtra, on the eve of Ramzan.

The Bombay high court ordered the Nagpur Municipal Corporation to rebuild the three-storeyed home of Fahim Khan, or compensate him for having demolished it last year, after he was arrested for rioting.

One more ray of hope for Muslims across the country emerged during Ramzan.

The UPSC results, announced on March 6, included the names of 53 Muslim candidates, the highest number ever from the community.

These 53 will hopefully go on to make a dent in the prejudice that IAS and IPS officers sometimes display against Muslims.

This success shows how invested the community is in a system increasingly hostile to them.

Notwithstanding the frequent expressions of hate against them by the ruling party, these youngsters have pushed themselves to enter the exclusive ranks of those who run the country.

"We keep our heads down and get on with our lives."

This is how UP's Muslims described to this reporter their survival strategy after Yogi Adityanath was re-elected in 2022.

This Eid, maybe they, and Muslims everywhere in the country, can celebrate with their heads held high.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff