The record
Written from the 1 report below. Nothing here is unsourced.
- Muslim community groups across India, largely linked to the BJP minority morcha, are marking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 76th birthday with Quran recitations, prayers for his long life, and cake celebrations in cities including Moradabad, Meerut, Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi, Bhopal and Mumbai.
- The BJP is observing the birthday as a 'Seva Sankalp' campaign marking PM Modi's 25 years in public life, and Muslim organisations say the events are inspired by the slogan 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas'.
- Famous Sufi shrines including Ajmer Sharif, Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, and Dewa Sharif and Kachhocha Sharif in Uttar Pradesh will be lit with thousands of lamps and candles in an evening 'Chiragan' festival, with special prayers also offered for the country's prosperity and peace.
- At the Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi, 723 lamps will be lit to coincide with the shrine's 723rd Urs, and Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju is scheduled to take part in the lamp-lighting and chadar-poshi there.
- The celebrations matter politically because they showcase Muslim support for the Prime Minister and the BJP minority wing's effort to promote communal harmony, with beneficiaries of the triple talaq law and self-help groups also joining a special lamp festival in Varanasi.
What to watch next
- Evening lamp-lighting ('Chiragan') ceremonies at major dargahs including Ajmer Sharif and Nizamuddin, with Kiren Rijiju's participation at Nizamuddin.
- 'Seva Sankalp' activities such as food distribution, cleanliness drives and medical camps in settlements.
- Further programmes at minority religious sites, including a planned event at a Jain temple in Delhi.
Coverage1
1 report
Indian-language1
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Named India · Bhopal · Delhi · Lucknow · Meerut · Moradabad · Mumbai · Varanasi · Anees Abbasi · Anwar Qureshi · Bharatiya Janata Party · BJP Minority Morcha · Kiren Rijiju
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