Modi’s ‘happy’ wish hurts - Tweet on first day of Ramazan month raises eyebrows

New Delhi, July 11: Narendra Modi today tweeted “Happy Ramazan” on the first day of the holy month, hoping it would bring “joy, peace and prosperity”, but several community leaders said the message was inappropriate.

Most expressed surprise at the tweet, saying they had rarely heard of such a greeting at the beginning of the month-long fast that culminates in the festival of Id-ul-Fitr. Others dismissed it as a pre-election-year gimmick. The President, the Prime Minister and leaders of political parties do offer greetings on festivals, including Id, but few veterans could recall such a message at the start of the Ramazan month. Modi’s message was the first such from the Gujarat chief minister and came days after his lieutenant Amit Shah had resurrected the demand for a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Some of Modi’s minority supporters in Gujarat recalled him greeting the community on Id just once — in 2011 — when he had launched his much-vaunted Sadhbhavna (harmony) mission. But the exercise had fizzled out the moment he refused to wear a skullcap offered by a cleric. In his tweet, which came about a month after his elevation as the BJP’s campaign committee chief for 2014, Modi said: “Happy Ramazan. May this holy month bring joy, peace and prosperity in our lives.” Zafar ul Islam, Delhi-based editor of the fortnightly Milli Gazette, said since childhood, he has “never heard” of Ramazan greetings being exchanged. “Coming from Modi, it does not sound credible. Let him first apologise for what he did in 2002 and look after the Muslim victims.” Victims who survived the 2002 Gujarat riots accuse Modi of delaying action to rein in the murderous hordes that attacked minority pockets in the state that year. Other community members tried to figure out whether there was any other reason behind Modi’s “outreach” than a “political” motive. “The done thing on the opening day of Ramazan is for us to seek the blessings of family and friends. In my memory, no politician has ever issued a formal greeting,” said Masoom Moradabadi, a member of the Muslim Personal Law Board. Naeem Ur Rahman Siddiqui, general secretary of the Islamic Council of India, said Ramazan was about “responsibility and fulfilling” religious obligations. “It is not about festivities that require greetings. If a chief minister really means to make rozedars (those keeping fasts) comfortable, he can provide uninterrupted supply of water, electricity and enhance civic amenities in Muslim-populated areas,” he said. It is learnt that Modi was “advised” in Ahmedabad to top up his greeting by hosting an iftaar but that is not on the agenda. “He is doing a balancing act: travel some distance to warm up to Muslims but not go the whole hog,” a BJP source said. Zafar Sareshwala, an Ahmedabad businessman close to Modi, said the city was not known for iftaars that have become calendar events in Delhi. “Modi has made a good beginning because if iftaars are hijacked by politicians, they lose their spirit.” ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT IN BHOPAL