The crescent moon

The new moon has been sighted. Eidul Fitr, one of the most important events on the Islamic calendar, and the one most delighted in by families and especially by children everywhere, will be celebrated today in the country. With the month of fasting over, there will be the usual gathering, the exchange of presents and all the other rituals that mark the event. But every year Eid also brings its stories of tragedy and disparity – increasingly so in a country teetering on the edge of social and economic chaos. Everywhere, there are families unable to afford the new shoes their children seek or even put a decent meal on the table at least on Eid day. We have seen fathers commit suicide over their failure to meet even the modest expectations of their families. Even when the steps taken are not so extreme, Eid, and in many ways Ramazan, shows up the widening social gaps in a society obsessed with ostentatious display and commercialism. The Iftari and Sehri business keeps restaurants booked to the full, but those who gather around the table rarely think of those unable to manage even the simple delicacies which once made up the essence of the Ramazan evening meal or of Eid itself.
This year we will also have the families of the nearly 1300 people who died in the Karachi heatwave, which hit late in June, not celebrating at all. We have already forgotten about the dead – and why they died. Experts have said in some cases it was a lack of awareness about how to cope with exceptionally hot weather, especially while also fasting. In other cases, those who literally fell dead on roadsides were the homeless, the drug addicts and other persons considered to rank at the very lowest steps of society. Dozens of bodies were never claimed, according to the Edhi Foundation. These were the people who had no one to care for them and received no help from any quarter. As we mark this Eid day, we should think about all those in our country who are living on the margins of society – the working class, the IDPs, the forgotten of the land. Eid is as much about giving thanks for what we have and sharing with the less fortunate as it is about family and community. Yet we have an increasing communal divide as well as social differentiation in our society. The pressures of Eid and the extravagance that has come to be associated with it highlights this to a greater extent each year. The consequences need to be considered carefully. The simplicity that lies at the heart of our religion has been lost amidst many complications. We must celebrate the fact that Ramazan this year was not torn apart by the violence that had been feared. We must also celebrate this immensely important festival. But even while doing so, we should also think and find ways to change all that is wrong with our society.