INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
MUMBAI: Congress leaders Arif Naseem Khan and Mudassar Patel have demanded that the state government change the Eid-ul-Azha or Bakrid
holiday from June 28 to June 29.In separate letters to chief minister Eknath Shinde, Khan and Patel have requested him to approve a holiday
for June 29, instead of June 28 as mentioned in the state's calendar for holidays
"The first day of Bakrid this year, according to sighting of the new moon, is on June 29 while the state government has declared the holiday
We have requested the CM to order a change of the holiday date and issue a fresh GR regarding this
Hope our genuine demand will be met," said Patel
Every year, the state government prepares a list of holidays but sometimes dates of Muslim festivals change as they are decided on sightings
The three-day Bakrid festival begins on June 29
Apart from offering two-unit namaz, goats and sheep too will be sacrificed as a mark of commemoration of Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim)'s offer
to sacrifice his son Ismaeel
God only wanted to test Ibrahim's devotion and sent a lamb to be sacrificed
Muslims celebrate this episode with animal sacrifice
And it is not just about sacrifice, but Bakrid also carries a message of caring and sharing
The meat of the sacrificed animals is divided into three parts
One part goes to the poor, second part is distributed among relatives while the third part is kept for consumption of the family which has
sacrificed the animal.Bakrid is also important because qurbani or sacrifice of animals is part of annual Haj rituals
The festival falls on the days when Haj is performed in and around Mecca in Saudi Arabia
Qurbani is mandatory only for those Muslims who can afford it.
