Partab Shivani, a Hindu in Pakistan, has fasted on and off during Ramazan for years, but this time is different as he practices abstinence for the entire holy month.
Every year, he and his friends in Mithi arrange Iftar to foster peace and solidarity between the two religions.
“I believe we need to promote interfaith harmony. First, we are humans — religions came later,” Shivani, a 48-year-old social activist, told AFP, adding that he also reads the teachings of the Buddha.
“His message is about peace and ending war. Peace can spread through solidarity and by standing with one another. Distance only widens the gap between people,” he added.
Most of the country’s Hindu population, which comprises two per cent population, lives in rural areas of Sindh.
In Mithi itself, most of the 60,000 inhabitants are Hindu.
Many of the city’s Hindus also observe Ramazan and Iftar has become a social gathering where people from both faiths happily participate.
“This has been a wonderful tradition of ours for a very long time,” said Mir Muhammad Buledi, a 51-year-old Muslim friend who attended Shivani’s Iftar gathering.
“It is a beautiful example of harmony between the two communities.”
‘Like brothers’
According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), freedom of religion or belief is under constant threat, with religiously motivated violence and discrimination increasing yearly in Pakistan.
State authorities, often using religious unrest for political gain, have failed to address the crisis, the HRCP says.
But such tensions are absent in Mithi.
“I am a Hindu, but I keep all the fasts during this month,” said Sushil Malani, a local politician.
“I feel happy standing with my Muslim brothers. We celebrate Eid together as well. This tradition in the region is very old.”
In the daytime, restaurants and tea stalls are closed across the country during Ramazan.
Ramesh Kumar, a 52-year-old Hindu man who sells sweets and savoury items outside a shrine, keeps his push cart covered and closed until Iftar.
“There is no discrimination among us if someone is Muslim or Hindu. I have been seeing this since my childhood that we all live together like brothers,” he said.
Muslim shrine, Hindu caretaker
Locals say Mithi’s peaceful religious coexistence can be traced to its remote location, emerging from the sand dunes of the Tharparkar desert, which borders the Indian state of Rajasthan.
At two Sufi Muslim shrines in the middle of the city, Hindu families arrange meals, bringing fruit, meals and juices for their Muslim neighbours to break their fasts.
“We respect Muslims,” said Mohan Lal Malhi, a Hindu caretaker of one of the shrines.
Mohan said his parents and elders taught him to respect people regardless of religion or colour, and the traditions are passed from one generation to the next.
Local residents said both communities consider their social relationships more important than their religious identity.
“You will see a (Sikh) gurdwara, a mosque, and a shrine standing side by side here,” Mohan said.
“The atmosphere of this area teaches humanity.”
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