The big Iftar parties are falling into a rut. There are so many of them that it is difficult to tell as to who was the first in breaking the ice this year! That Ramzan is party time is the impression created in most minds when one sees umpteen stalls selling snacks, kebabs, sevaiyans, halim, pakodas, etc. Sure, Iftar is the time to savour all these delicacies; a rozedar (one who fasts) waits impatiently after having abstained from eatables and drinks for the whole day. But there are even bigger Iftar stalls selling the political ideology for buying votes for the elections that can erupt any moment.
It is observed that a token representation from Old Delhi, Zakir Nagar and trans Yamuna areas and senior bureaucrats and politicians are invited to mingle next to beautifully laid-out sophisticated buffets. The idea is perhaps to show that politicians are one with the minority community. And of course the one indicator of communal harmony is the Mughlai cuisine! Iftar is technically the meal with which fasting ends for that, therefore without a fast there is no Iftar.
Mufti Mukarram Ahmed, Imam of the Shahi Fatehpuri Masjid, Delhi and a pious rozedar, hates the politicisation of Iftar and points out that more than 90 per cent people at such Iftars do not observe fast. Besides, fast is nullified if the Iftar material is bought from money on account of bribes and wants that this must stop.
Truly, as Ramzan, the ninth month according to the Islamic calendar, happens to be the most pious month as it was during this month that the holy Quran was revealed to the last Prophet, Hazrat Mohammed, there is no room in it for lies, hypocrisy and politics. If ever there was blatant hypocrisy indulged by the political hawks, it is the “Iftar party”.
It is believed that these Iftar parties began some time in 1975 after the Turkman Gate riots during the Emergency. The late Inder Mohan, a PUCL activist used to tell me that in order to appease the angry Muslims of Delhi, at the behest of Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, the late Indira Gandhi started Iftar parties. In these parties, the people invited included a selective gathering of foreign ambassadors and diplomats, top politicians, celebrities from the fields of media, sports, film, business, etc.
The way Iftar invitations are sent, is something just ridiculous! One person in the office prepares the list. Another dispatches them. Yet another one receives invitees at the gate. So for the minister or the VIP holding this Iftar becomes quite embarrassing to meet people he himself hasn’t invited. It becomes a very impersonal affair. After the Congress, every party arranged political Iftars “religiously”.
In one of the BJP Iftar parties last year at Ashok Road, the moment the time of breaking the fast approached, thousands of people (bearded and un-bearded) fell on the eatables and within seconds there was nothing for the poor rozedar! As if that wasn’t sufficient, to the chagrin of the party president, there was complete lack of civic sense. For some people, such a rendezvous is a status symbol.
According to Shahid Siddiqui, Member of Parliament and editor of Nai Dunia, Urdu weekly, Iftar parties should not be instruments of political maneuvering and manipulation. However, he says, if they are held as a social or religious token of love and affection for friends and relatives, then there’s nothing wrong in them.
But Maulana Jameel llyasi, president of the All India Imams’ Association, is of the view that such Iftars are socially viable as people belonging to various backgrounds warmheartedly feast with each other. At least for meeting certain political ends, these Iftars are quite useful.
Some years ago, Hyderabad House was booked for H D Deve Gowda’s first Iftar party as the Prime Minister. Preparations began well in advance as a menu of standard Iftar dishes was prepared.
But Gowda’s men struck down a few non-vegetarian items to include the humble farmer’s favourites — sambar, dosa and bisibelebhat. Well, if I tell you the secret, democracy triumphed over sheermal! On the day of the Iftar, as Gowda welcomed his 700 strong gathering, a combined aroma of uttapam and seekh kebabs arose from the kitchen puzzling the old timers.
In fact that served as the appetiser. Even haleem was there in pure Hyderabadi style.
Some regular Iftar buffs eagerly wait for this holy month and the most sought-after Iftar invitations for them are of the President, Prime Minister, defence minister, railways minister, HRD minister and the home minister. The presence of certain political celebrities becomes the barometer of the popularity of a certain minister. Besides, for that regular Iftar buff, it is the most handy opportunity to score over his opponents.
“It is high time to move from symbolism to realism, from tokenism to service,” says Khwaja Iftekhar Ahmed, president Inter Faith Harmony Foundation of India. He adds that the Sachar Committee report and recommendations are an eye-opener for the whole Indian society and also for the Muslim community to join their heads and hands together in order to undertake the gigantic task of the uplift of the second largest majority of India without whose development, the mission of 2020 will remain a dream.
