RSS Muslim group to break fast with cow’s milk in Ayodhya | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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RSS Muslim group to break fast with cow’s milk in Ayodhya

Hindustan Times, Lucknow | By
Jun 17, 2017 09:57 AM IST

Muslim Rashtriya Manch claims it’s using the occasion to raise awareness on cow slaughter and make the community aware that even Islam disapproves of the practice.

A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliate will host an iftar party at Ayodhya on Wednesday offering a glass of cow milk to those observing Roza (dawn-to-dusk fasting) to break their fast, a rare occurrence.

RSS leader Indresh Kumar during an Iftar party organised by the Muslim Rashtriya Manch at Jamia Milia Islamia recently.(HT PHOTO)
RSS leader Indresh Kumar during an Iftar party organised by the Muslim Rashtriya Manch at Jamia Milia Islamia recently.(HT PHOTO)

The Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) was set up in 2002 by the RSS, the ideological fountainhead of the ruling BJP, to reach out to the Muslims on various issues including the vexed Ayodhya dispute.

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The MRM has invited all prominent Muslim citizens of the temple town, including Iqbal Ansari, son of late Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title suit case, for the iftar, the first meal after the day’s fasting.

RSS veterans Indresh Kumar and Morari Das would be present at the event.

As per ritual, a Muslim breaks his fast during the month of Ramadan with dates or a glass of water. Fruit juices are also served at community iftar parties, often hosted by various organisations, including political parties. But it’s unique to offer cow milk to end Roza.

Sumptuous non-vegetarian delicacies are also integral part of the iftar.

Indresh Kumar at an iftar party organised by the MRM at the Jamia Milia Islamia recently courted controversy saying meat is a poison.

“From Prophet Adam to the last Prophet, and even (the Prophet Muhammad’s wife) Aisha, never ate ‘gosht.’ Meat is a disease. Milk is the cure and treatment...,” he had said.

The MRM though regularly host iftars across the country, this year it is using the occasion to create awareness against cow slaughter. That’s why it is urging Muslims to break roza with cow’s milk and shun meat.

“Cow slaughter has been banned in Islam too. We are merely using the occasion to make the community aware about it,” said Raees Khan, in-charge of MRM’s UP and Uttarakhand chapters.

The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in UP has decided to book those involved in cow slaughter under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), a decision that has been welcomed by the RSS.

Chief of UP’s main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) Akhilesh Yadav will host iftar on June 19 followed by one by governor Ram Naik on June 23 and the Congress around the same period.

But neither the UP CM nor any of his ministers have so far hosted the event despite the fact that politicians across parties have for years hosted iftars to reach out to the minority community.

Barring former BJP CM Ram Prakash Gupta, all other previous CMs, including veterans like Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh of the saffron party hosted iftar as was also done by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a five-time Lucknow MP.

But Adityanath apparently has taken the cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who hasn’t hosted Iftar in three years of being in power.

MRM defended Yogi. “The state doesn’t have any religion so why should it host iftars?” asked Morari Das.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Manish Chandra Pandey is a Lucknow-based Senior Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times’ political bureau in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Along with political reporting, he loves to write offbeat/human interest stories that people connect with. Manish also covers departments. He feels he has a lot to learn not just from veterans, but also from newcomers who make him realise that there is so much to unlearn.

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