Praying for a new chapter of peace in their community, Muslims in India’s northeastern state of Assam celebrated `Eid Al-Fitr with special prayers at mosques and open grounds for lasting peace following ethnic clashes in which scores of Muslims were killed.

The main Eid celebrations were held in the Machkhowa Eidgah field in Guwahati where Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi along with his son Gaurav Gogoi took part in the prayers. “It is almost one month that Assam is facing this crisis.

We have seen a lot of bloodshed, the government is doing what is needful, but today everyone has to come forward, from every ethnicity and from every community and take a pledge that we will fight out this crisis,” Gogoi told reporters.
“Assam has a history of communal harmony,” Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said after offering his prayers.

“The diverse communities residing in Assam has been living together since ages and we all must maintain the age old harmony, which has been a identity of the people of Assam.”

“We have organized special prayers today (Monday) to pray for lasting peace in Assam,” Anowar Hussain, the imam of the Burha Jame Mosque in Guwahati, which is one of the oldest mosques in the state, told Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) on Monday. “The true meaning of Islam is peace and we have prayed to the Almighty Allah to empower every one of us so that we can follow the true spirit of Islam.”

`Eid Al-Fitr is one the two main Islamic religious festivals along with `Eid Al-Adha. Millions of Muslims across the world began celebrating the `Eid Al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan month of fasting on Sunday and Monday.

Hussain said that all `Eid committees in Assam had decided to organize the special prayers to pray for peace as well as for the well-being of the displaced people in three recent violence hit districts of the state so they can return home soon.

“We have also prayed to the Almighty to stop the mistrust among communities that have made several people from this part of the country flee from states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra and others,” said Hussain.

Sectarian violence erupted a month ago after four youths were killed by unidentified men in the isolated Kokrajhar district.

In retaliation, armed men from Bodo tribes attacked Muslims for suspicion of being behind the killings.
Clashes spread to the neighboring Chirang and Dhubri districts over the weekend, leaving at least 22 people dead.

Thousands of people were also left homeless as their villages were set on fire in the violence. During the prayers, Indian officials urged all religious backgrounds to maintain the age-old tradition of communal harmony.

Surrounded by China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan, Assam is home to more than 200 ethnic and tribal groups and has been racked by separatist revolts since India’s independence from Britain in 1947.

In recent years, Hindu and Christian tribes have vented strong sentiments against Muslims, calling them Bangladeshi immigrants.

Muslims account for 160 million of India’s 1.1 billion people, the world’s third-largest Muslim population after those of Indonesia and Pakistan. According to the 2011 census, 31.3 percent of Assam’s total population is Muslim and there are over 300 mosques in Assam’s main city Guwahati.

Eid-ul-Fitr celebrated in Meghalaya
Eid-ul-Fitr, the festival marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramazan, was Wednesday celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety across Meghalaya, predominantly a Christian state.

Thousands of men and children clad in new attire and wearing skull caps offered Namaz-e-Eid in Eidgahs or open grounds and mosques in Shillong, Dawki, Nongpoh, Lad Rymbai, Byrnihat and Garo Hills region.

The biggest congregation here was held at Laban Eidgah, where over 7,000 devouts offered prayers. Moulana Imran Jyrwa led the prayers.

‘The festival celebrates the culmination of 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramazan,’ Jyrwa said. The word ‘Eid’ in Arabic means festivities and ‘Fitr’ means breaking the fast, he said.

Before offering prayers, every Muslim family paid charity (fixed at Rs.60 this year) on behalf of each member as per the Islamic rules so that the poor can also celebrate the festival.

After the prayers, Muslims visited the houses of relatives and friends to offer greetings. Guests were treated to sheer khorma (special sweet made of vermicelli, milk and dry fruits) and other delicacies.

Meghalaya Governor R.S. Mooshahary and Chief Minister Mukul Sangma greeted the people of the state on the occasion. Wishing ‘Eid Mubarak’, Mooshahary hoped ‘the festival will strengthen our faith in oneness, the solemnity of all faiths tolerance and goodwill’.

Extending his greetings, Chief Minister Sangma said: ‘Eid-ul-Fitr which marks the end of the holy month of Ramazan will open a new chapter of progress and development in the state and a harbinger of peace, progress and prosperity.’
Muslims constitute four percent of the nearly three million population of Meghalaya.