Iftar party an occasion to strengthen religious harmony: Mukesh Hegde
Mukesh Hegde has been conducting Iftar party for the last 20 years
Mangaluru, June 11: In a communally sensitive place like Mangaluru, a businessman belonging to Hindu community has been conducting harmonious Iftar party for the last 20 years, receiving widespread appreciation both from the Hindu and Muslim communities.
Mukesh Hegde, owner of Car Décor at Kadri Shivabagh in the city, has been conducting the Iftar party on second or third Sunday of Ramzan month in the city for the last 20 years. This time, he organized the Iftar party on June 1 in which more than 100 people participated. Talent Research Foundation founder president Abdul Rauf Puttige gave Ramzan and Iftar party message.
Those who were on fasting participated in the party happily. They appreciated the hospitality of Mukesh Hegde, his wife and children during the party. They expect that such harmonious programmes should be conducted regularly in the city in order to avoid communal hatred among people.
Speaking to Varthabharati, Hegde said that “I am not organizing the Iftar party for publicity or attracting customers. I have many friends and well-wishers of Muslims, Hindus and Christians. I believe that this is no other right occasion than this one to spend a happy moment with them. So, I have been organizing this party along with my family members and this would continue in future”, he said.
“In 1998, my Car Décor outlet was at the Saibeen Complex at Lalbagh in the city. I was observing my Muslim friends who were on fasting during Ramadan month and the Iftar party being held there every day attracted me most. After this, I have planned to organize the Iftar party during every Ramzan. With the support of Saibeen Complex owner, owners of other outlets and staff, I had organized the Iftar party. In the beginning, more than 300-400 people used to participate in the Iftar party. Since eight years, I have been organizing the party at my own house at Kadri Shivabagh. Around 100-150 persons participate in the party. In this party also, more than 100 persons participated”, Hegde said.
Space for prayer
“We not only organize Iftar party, but also allow the participants to have prayer. For this, we will arrange carpets. We, including my wife and children, will cordially invite the guests who accept our invitation. I cannot express the joy and experience in simple words”, he said.
Hindus and Christians too attend
“This is just a harmonious iftar party in which along with Muslims, my Hindu and Christian friends will also participate happily. IN order to make them understand the value of the Iftar party, Abdul Rauf Puttige will give Ramzan and Iftar message in Tulu. So, this Iftar party is ensuring religious and linguistic harmony among us”, he said.
No poverty if zakat is offered
Islam religion has given priority for zakat. Probably as I know, there is no alternative system than zakat to alleviate poverty in the society. Rich people giving zakat to the deserving poor once in a year should be made mandatory. This might alleviate the poverty in future. There is no need to impose tax on them also, he said.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
