Click to play videoBangalore: Siddique, a butcher at the Shivaji Nagar market in Bangalore, is a busy man. With Eid fast approaching, business has never been this good for him.
But this time, Eid falls on October 2, which is also Gandhi Jayanti - a day when the sale of meat and liqour is prohibited as a mark of respect to the Father of the Nation.
That means Muslims may find it difficult to buy meat for the feast after the month-long fast. They are now hoping the government would step in to help.
“We are trying to push a letter to the CM to allow us to at least sell meat but then we are not going to sell at the daytime, we will sell only after 12 at night till early morning and then we will go for our morning prayers,” says Siddique.
Agrees General Secretary of Central Muslim Association, Zaheerudin Sheikh, “We have appealed to the chief minister and the corporate authorities to at least allow the sale of meat if Eid falls on Gandhi Jayanti.”
The BJP government in the state, already under fire for the attack on Christians, has chosen to play it safe.
“We are trying to find a way out. The government really has a big job to find a way out,” says state Law Minister Suresh Kumar.
There is also a talk among the Muslim community to celebrate Eid a day in advance, on October 1, which clerics say can be done.
So will the moon sighting committee oblige? Or will the community have to go the Gandhian way and celebrate a vegetarian Eid?
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