Kashmir to celebrate fourth consecutive Eid amid restrictions

The first Eid to be celebrated amid strict restrictions was in August 2019, just a week after abrogation of Article 370

As Kashmir is readying to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, this will be the fourth festival in the Valley which has come amid severe restrictions.

There are two major Eids in the Islamic calendar per year -- Eid ul-Fitr, which is celebrated after a month of fasting from dawn to dusk, and Eid al-Adha, which comes two months and 10 days later. Eid ul-Fitr is also known as Meethi Eid in India and Eid-ul-Adha as Bakr-Eid.

The first Eid to be celebrated amid strict restrictions came on August 12, 2019, just a week after the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370. People had to celebrate Bakr Eid that year amid curfew, unprecedented communication blockade, uncertainty and confusion.

People could hardly do any Eid shopping and purchase sacrificial animals. Unconfirmed reports said only 5% people could perform ‘qurbani’ (a Muslim tradition to sacrifice an animal on Bakr-Eid) that year. And fearing law and order problems, authorities did not allow big Eid prayer congregations anywhere in Kashmir that time.

The second Eid held amid restrictions was Eid ul-Fitr, which was celebrated on May 24 last year, amid strict Covid-19 lockdown. Authorities didn’t give any relaxation in restrictions to allow people to do Eid shopping.

And the third Muslim festival amid Covid-19 lockdown was Bakr Eid on July 31 last year. Though authorities in Kashmir gave a three-day relaxation in Covid lockdown so that people could make purchases, especially of sacrificial animals, the usual hustle and bustle was missing in the markets due to Covid-19 scare and ensuing liquidity crunch.

Like previous three Eids, this time too, the festival has arrived amid tough restrictions due to the resurgence of Covid pandemic. Restrictions were imposed across Jammu and Kashmir from April 29 to stem the rising positive cases and deaths related to Covid.

There is no festive atmosphere in the air as Kashmir is all set to have low-key Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations either on May 13 or May 14. The administration has barred the holding of big Eid congregations in view of the spike in coronavirus cases.

“We have gone through successive lockdowns during the past two years. The government should focus on implementing Covid-related standard operating procedures instead of shutting down markets to control the pandemic,” a shopkeeper in city center Lal Chowk, told DH.

He rued that the government has no plan in place for shopkeepers and small-time traders and they have been left to fend for themselves.