<p>The Muslim prisoners are observing the same routine as their Hindu brethren. Along with the Hindu prisoners, the Muslim inmates also take bath early in the morning and then offer puja with incense sticks and flowers.<br /><br />“Along with the Hindu prisoners, the Muslim inmates eat only fruits and other items eaten during the fast,” says the superintendent of the jail Luxmi Narain Dohare.<br />“As many as 570 of the total 1,500 inmates are keeping the Navratra fast... of them there are 25 Muslim prisoners who are also on fast,” Dohare said.<br />Incidentally, a majority of prisoners in the Barabanki jail have been serving sentences on charges like smuggling of morphine. The district is well known for its opium farming.<br />As a result Shamim, Abu Fazal, Feroz and Islam along with several other Muslim inmates join their Hindu brethern every morning in offering prayer at the jail temple.<br />“No one asked them (Muslim prisoners) to keep the fast...they are doing it on their own with a view to promoting communal harmony between the two communities,” the jail official said.<br /><br />“The Muslim prisoners are learning Hindu prayers so that we can also sing the bhajans during the ‘artis’ in the morning and evening in the jail temple,” he added.<br />Every fasting prisoner is supplied with the sanctioned meal, he said. It consists of 250 gram of milk, 100 gram of sugar, two bananas and tea.<br />“The fasting Muslim inmates never asked for more...they have even been observing the same routine like the Hindus,” he said.<br /><br />As smoking and use of tobacco are prohibited during fasting, the Muslim prisoners are also not using the same. In a state where communal violence is quite common like the one witnessed in Bareilly town recently, the gesture of these jail inmates will go a long way in spreading the message of communal harmony.<br />The Navratra festival began on Tuesday last. It will end on Wednesday withthe celebration of Ramnavami.<br />DH News Service</p>
<p>The Muslim prisoners are observing the same routine as their Hindu brethren. Along with the Hindu prisoners, the Muslim inmates also take bath early in the morning and then offer puja with incense sticks and flowers.<br /><br />“Along with the Hindu prisoners, the Muslim inmates eat only fruits and other items eaten during the fast,” says the superintendent of the jail Luxmi Narain Dohare.<br />“As many as 570 of the total 1,500 inmates are keeping the Navratra fast... of them there are 25 Muslim prisoners who are also on fast,” Dohare said.<br />Incidentally, a majority of prisoners in the Barabanki jail have been serving sentences on charges like smuggling of morphine. The district is well known for its opium farming.<br />As a result Shamim, Abu Fazal, Feroz and Islam along with several other Muslim inmates join their Hindu brethern every morning in offering prayer at the jail temple.<br />“No one asked them (Muslim prisoners) to keep the fast...they are doing it on their own with a view to promoting communal harmony between the two communities,” the jail official said.<br /><br />“The Muslim prisoners are learning Hindu prayers so that we can also sing the bhajans during the ‘artis’ in the morning and evening in the jail temple,” he added.<br />Every fasting prisoner is supplied with the sanctioned meal, he said. It consists of 250 gram of milk, 100 gram of sugar, two bananas and tea.<br />“The fasting Muslim inmates never asked for more...they have even been observing the same routine like the Hindus,” he said.<br /><br />As smoking and use of tobacco are prohibited during fasting, the Muslim prisoners are also not using the same. In a state where communal violence is quite common like the one witnessed in Bareilly town recently, the gesture of these jail inmates will go a long way in spreading the message of communal harmony.<br />The Navratra festival began on Tuesday last. It will end on Wednesday withthe celebration of Ramnavami.<br />DH News Service</p>