Muslims Across India Celebrate Eid al-Fitr After 'Painful' Ramadan

Muslims throughout India celebrated Eid al-Fitr on Tuesday by offering prayers outside mosques, following a string of assaults against Muslims during their month-long observance of Ramadan.

Mohammad Habeeb ur Rehman, a civil engineer in Mumbai, the country's commercial capital, said this year's festivity is different from the ones before.

"This is the most painful Eid with the worst memories for Indian Muslims," he said.

Recently, anti-Muslim sentiment and attacks have increased across the country, with Hindu and Muslim organizations throwing stones at each other during religious processions and police demolishing several Muslim-owned structures, per ABC News.

Hindi Nationalists' Anti-Muslim Agenda

Hard-line Hindu nationalists who have long advocated an anti-Muslim agenda have vilified the group, which accounts for 14% of India's 1.4 billion people. The violence has been indirectly endorsed by certain leaders of India's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has remained quiet on the matter.

Hindutva religious leaders have issued a flurry of genocide threats in recent months. More than 18 religious leaders have called for the kidnapping, rape, and extermination of Muslims, as well as a boycott of their enterprises. They have campaigned for the eradication of Islamic culture in India. Per The Diplomat, ordinary citizens are being used as foot soldiers by these leaders to fulfill their objective of building a Hindu state in India.

Eid al-Fitr is traditionally commemorated by communal prayers, joyful gatherings around holiday meals, and new clothing, but COVID-19 regulations have hampered celebrations in India for the past two years.

The Muslim celebration has been suppressed in Indian-controlled Kashmir for the past three years due to an unprecedented military lockdown enforced when India removed the territory of its semi-autonomy in 2019, preceded by the epidemic.

Violence During Holy Month

Throughout Ramadan, the region saw an uptick in violence, with at least 20 militants, two civilians, and five police and military deaths.

Meanwhile, hundreds gathered at New Delhi's Jama Masjid, one of the country's largest mosques, to perform Eid prayers for the first time in almost two years because of pandemic restrictions. On Tuesday morning, families gathered early to exchange hugs and well wishes.

According to Al Jazeera, the majority of the violence in April occurred in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, as Hindus celebrated the birthday of Ram, one of the religion's most revered gods.

While the Khargone district administration bulldozed at least 16 houses and 29 stores belonging to individuals suspected of throwing stones at Ram Navmi parades in five localities of the district on the same day.

Even though a trial is still ongoing in the courts, authorities tore down the homes and properties of Muslims accused of crimes.

Many Muslim leaders and activists have criticized the government for bulldozing the suspects' homes and questioned if such actions are lawful. Violence was also reported in the western state of Gujarat, which is also dominated by the BJP, in the towns of Khambhat in the Anand district and Himmatnagar in the Sabarkantha district.

According to media reports, many shops and vehicles in Khambhat and Himmatnagar were set ablaze, with at least one person killed as a result of the attack.

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India, Muslim