Thousands of Muslims took part in Eid-e-Milad processions today across Mumbai, marking the 1,500th birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad.
This year, the Muslim community decided to shift the main Eid-e-Milad processions from 5th September to 8th September to avoid overlapping with Ganeshotsav celebrations, ensuring communal harmony. The Maharashtra government also rescheduled the public holiday for Mumbai City and Suburban districts, allowing peaceful celebrations. Streets across several parts of the city witnessed processions, devotional chants, and displays of unity and faith.
Processions from different parts of the city converged at Khilafat House, Byculla, to take part in the rally that began at 2pm. There were processions in Malwani, Mumbra and other areas of the city.
A few Sufi groups did not take part in the processions after their disagreement with the All India Khilafat Committee’s decision to hold the event on September 18. They said the arbitrary announcement did not give them time to set up their stalls and installations along the route to showcase Islamic culture, like calligraphy workshops
Eid-e-Milad processions in Mumbai have a history similar to Ganeshotsav as it is celebrated today. Like the sarvajanik or community Ganeshotsav promoted by Lokmanya Tilak to circumvent government bans on political gatherings, Eid-e-Milad processions were conceived by brothers Shaukat Ali and Mohammad Ali, to bring together supporters for India’s freedom.
Though there are contrary views on the year of the first procession – newspaper reports suggest it was in 1934 – the Khilafat movement began in 1919 as a reaction to the abolition of the Islamic Caliphate after the defeat of the Ottomans in World War I.
