Indian Muslim devotees break their Ramadan fast in Bangalore on June 9. Some Hindu prisoners are observing the dawn-to-dusk Ramadan fast along with Muslim inmates as a show of solidarity. (Photo by AFP)
Hindus have joined fellow Muslim inmates in fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in two jails in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state which is prone to sectarian violence.
Some 100 Hindu male prisoners are observing the dawn-to-dusk Ramadan fast along with 1,100 Muslim inmates in a jail in Muzaffarnagar. This city witnessed Hindu-Muslim sectarian violence in 2013 that left 60 people dead.
In Kanpur, another city, where more than a dozen sectarian riots broke out between Hindus and Muslims in the past decade, some 25 Hindu male prisoners are fasting during Ramadan along with 350 Muslims.
Some 10 Hindu women prisoners are also fasting in solidarity with Muslims in that jail.
The fasting by Hindu prisoners shows a "strong bond of brotherhood" because the "hate Hindus and Muslims have for each other is part of the social psyche where Muslims are seen as descendants and converts of invaders who plundered their wealth, destroyed their temples and attacked their forefathers," Satish Tripathi, supervisor of Muzaffarnagar jail told ucanews.com.
Many Hindu prisoners in Kanpur jail who fast, also pray in their own tradition while Muslim inmates offer namaaz (prayer) before they end their fast, said Vikram Singh, an official in that jail.
"In this jail there are some hardcore Hindu and Muslim criminals who are known for their rowdy nature. During Ramadan, they tend to behave properly," Singh said.
Muslims all over the world begun their holy month of Ramadan June 6 in which they will abstain from all food and drink from dawn till dusk for 29 to 30 days.
Hindu-Muslim sectarian tensions have a long history in India. British India was partitioned in 1947 on the basis of religion to form a Hindu majority India and a Muslim majority Pakistan. About 15 million people were displace and a million killed when the Indian subcontinent was partitioned, bringing to an end some 300 years of British colonial rule.
Prasenjit Biswas, a professor from North Eastern Hill University has lauded the fasting by Hindu prisoners as a "good example of Hindu-Muslim bonding" and hopes this will "find its echo among those who are members of the free society."
Sectarian tensions are increasing in the country and good relations between majority Hindus and minority Muslims in India have been recently eroding, social analysts say.
India, a secular country, is presently ruled by a federal government that has strengthened extremist Hindu groups who want to make India a Hindu-nation, they say.