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Journalism of Courage
Eid Al Adha is called Baqreed in India. The word Baqreed evokes the sights, sounds and aroma of carefree celebrations of my childhood, full of goodwill and laughter. There were well-established rules about the sacrifice, laid down by the grownups. I did not understand them well, but the part I did understand was that we ate delicious food and played in our new outfits, and received gifts from parents, aunts and uncles.
And yes, my father encouraged us to give a healthy chunk of all our 8220;loot8221; to the poor on our way back from congregational prayers. The charity was for all in need, irrespective of religion. Throngs of friends and well wishers from all religions visited my grandparents and enjoyed our hospitality.
Commemoration is only a part of it. The other part is sharing the food and bounty with friends. But the most important part is sharing with those who cannot afford food and clothes. Come to think of it, the core of all our festivals is thanking the almighty and sharing with the poor.
In the arid Arabian Peninsula, a major part of the wealth was measured in the number of sheep, camels and grazing rights. Meat was the staple of existence. The sacrifice of a sheep or a camel and distributing it to the poor was deemed an act of piety.
In pre-modern times, Haj was a once-a-lifetime undertaking in terms of money, compounded by the enormous hazard and time required to travel. Now the travelling part is much easier but the main problem is how to accommodate all the pilgrims for Haj and thus restrictions on their numbers.
Many scholars think the underlying principle on this day is to sacrifice material and intellectual things that are most dear to us, for the sake of God. In this context, the most difficult thing to sacrifice is our ego. Most of us are guilty of excessive ego. Each of us must acknowledge it: I am more guilty than most.
Let us celebrate Eid al Adha in the spirit of humility and acceptance. And best wishes to all of humanity, irrespective of their beliefs, in the best tradition of our forefathers.
