Muslims on Navratri fast in Tihar

Inmates reciprocate gesture after Hindu prisoners kept roza during Ramzan

NEW DELHI: In an exemplary gesture of communal bonhomie, nearly 300 Muslims in the capital’s famous Tihar jail complex are observing the nine-day Navratri fast, along with other Hindu inmates.

A prison official said that the act by the fasting Muslim inmates was a way to reciprocate their feelings for the 300 Hindu inmates who had joined the Muslims in keeping roza - the dawn to dusk fasting during the holy month of Ramazan from September 13 to October 13.

DNA had first reported in its September 29 edition Tihar’s Hindus, Muslims are fast friends, about several Hindus inmates of the Tihar Jail keeping roza.

Of the 13,249 inmates of the Tihar Jail, about 9,000 are Hindus. This year nearly 2,800 Hindu inmates are observing the navratri fast.

The authorities have made some special arrangements in the jail canteen keeping the food demands of the fasting inmates in mind.

“A variety of fruits, milk and pooris made from kutto atta have been made available in the canteen for the inmates who are observing the fast. We have also relaxed some rules for these inmates,” said Sunil Gupta, law officer, Tihar Jail.

Some of the inmates who are observing the fast have been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment. But considering the fasting regimen, authorities have assigned less laborious tasks to these inmates.

“We need to make certain concessions during navratri and ramazan,” Gupta said.

 Bhajans are played in the prison creating a spiritual ambience in the prison. Small temples are present across the nine jails of the complex. Some inmates have cut images of Durga from newspapers and pinned them on the walls of their cells.