Fasting in solidarity
Over 150 Hindu prisoners in India are fasting along with some 2,300 Muslim inmates during the holy month of Ramazan this year. The Hindu inmates started keeping Rozas (fasts) along with the Muslim inmates from the first day and plan to continue the month-long fasting, reports Outlook magazine.
The prison, India’s largest, houses over 10,000 inmates. Prison authorities have made special arrangements for the inmates to pray, and for sehri’ and iftar with seasonal fruits, sweets like Jalebi, dry fruits, and other snacks.
Meanwhile, a report in Gulf News, Abu Dhabi, features UAE’s non-Muslims who embrace fasting. The report quotes Arun Lal who grew up in a village in India where Hindus arranged iftar meals for Muslims in their temples along with space for Maghrib prayers.
He has been fasting every year in Ramazan since 2006 when he first started along with his colleague, Shaukath Ali. He initially found it difficult but soon began enjoying the mental and physical benefits of fasting.
He felt his participation in Ramadan has made him closer to his Muslim colleagues and friends. “Likewise, I think if all participate in the good practices of other faiths, there won’t be any differences in the name of religions”, he said. His family in India supported him. “We Hindus have no restrictions in observing any spiritual practice. That’s why Hindus welcomed all religions such as Islam and Christianity and coexisted with their believers for centuries.”
The report features interviews with several other Indian Hindus who fast in solidarity with Muslim colleagues.
Zindagi:
Zee TV India’s new channel Zindagi that is broadcasting Pakistani television serials has got off to a roaring start, with viewers bowled over by the quality of acting, production and storylines.
Devang Shah, of the Vellore Institute of Technology, sums it up in this comment on the Aman ki Asha Facebook group:
“This is a heart-felt happiness post about the entry of Pakistani shows in our lives. Zindagi is an excellent initiative and it feels that we have got new flavors added to our life. The Pakistani shows are truly brilliant. Starting from the acting to the storylines, they are phenomenal. They are serene yet sensitive. They have given a chance for us to think that even today our culture, traditions and basic ideologies are so similar.
“We had smiles on our face when we saw Aunn Zaraa fighting and our heart overwhelmed with emotions when we saw the intense poverty in Kaash mai teri beti naa hoti. We also respect and appreciate the attempts made by Kitni girhain baaki hain… and ZIndagi Gulzar Hai for women emancipation. We warmly welcome more such shows because they make us realize the latent bond of cultures that still these both countries share!”
Hope for prisoners
India on July 4 released nine Pakistani nationals, including five fishermen and four others, following the exchange of prisoners’ list that takes place every January 1 and July 1, according to the Consular Agreement of May 2008.
On July 1, 2014, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided the High Commission of India in Islamabad a list of 296 Indians lodged in Pakistani prisons, including 47 common citizens, 237 fishermen and 12 youthful offenders.
A similar list handed over by the Indian government to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi provided details of 380 Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails, including 116 fishermen and 264 common citizens.
On May 30, India had released 37 Pakistani prisoners, including 32 fishermen, while Pakistan on May 26 released 151 Indian prisoners including 150 fishermen, ahead of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Delhi to attend Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony.
If lists continue to be regularly exchanged and prisoners freed periodically, it will go a long way towards creating more goodwill between both countries. Even better would be to stop criminalising minor transgressions.
‘Samjhota Express’ re-launched
The revised edition of Pakistani lawyer Awais Sheikh’s book Samjhota Express was launched on July 4 in Chandigarh, India. The Delhi launch will take place on Saturday, July 12, 2014, at 6.00 pm at India International Center, Kamla Devi Complex, Gate No.1, Lodhi Road, New Delhi, with the High Commissioner of Pakistan Abdul Basit as chief guest.
Dr. Adish Aggarwala, President International Council of Jurists, will preside over the event. Other luminaries expected include former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice Rajinder Sachar; Chairman Press Council of India, Justice Markande Katju; prominent journalist Kuldip Nayar, senior advocate, Supreme Court of India, Prof. Bhim Singh; and prominent retired bureaucrat Dr. Bhure Lal.
