With the Jammu and Kashmir administration not shifting the Eid Milad-un-Nabi holiday to Saturday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has taken on the Lieutenant-Governor’s administration, terming it a deliberate decision “designed to hurt the sentiments of the people”.
Omar strongly criticised the move, calling it “a deliberate decision by the unelected government aimed at hurting the sentiments of the people.”
“The calendar printed by the Government press is very clear — ‘Subject to the appearance of the moon’. It means the holiday is subject to change depending on the moon sighting. The deliberate decision by the administration to not shift the holiday is inconsiderate and designed to hurt the sentiments of the people,” Omar said.
Eid Milad-un-Nabi, commemorating the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), is traditionally observed in Kashmir with nightlong prayers, the largest congregation being at Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar. The revered mosque, which houses a relic of the Prophet (PBUH), will hold its main prayers and public display of the relic on Saturday in line with the lunar calendar.
As per the media reports the elected government had formally proposed shifting the holiday to Saturday.
“The Chief Minister sent the proposal for rescheduling after the J&K Waqf Board, headed by BJP leader Darakhshan Andrabi, wrote to the government citing the appearance of the new moon,”
However, quoting CM’s advisor Nasir Aslam Wani, media reports said that the proposal was stalled at the bureaucratic level. “The file was sent to the Chief Secretary but was not cleared. We were told the holiday list falls under the central Act and has to be decided by the central government. The LG is interfering in all decisions,” Wani alleged.
The decision also drew sharp criticism from Kashmir’s chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who raised the issue during his Friday sermon at Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid. Calling it “utter disregard for Muslim sentiments”, Mirwaiz said, “This is the second consecutive year that the holiday has not been aligned with the lunar calendar. This deliberate negligence is unacceptable to the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir who protest it strongly.”(KINS)
