ludhiana iftar parties have become a trend setter in ludhiana and malerkotla for spreading communal harmony as members of other communities join muslims in holding and participating in such functions in the month of ramzan this bond is a big relief for those who are worried following reports of violence during recent religious festivals in some parts of the countrygazi sheikh a builder from ludhiana who runs a nursing college organised an iftar party which was attended by members of various communities including hindus sikhs and christians i organise iftar party almost every year apart from muslims brothers from sikh hindus and christian communities attend the event in large numbers the purpose of organising such iftar party is to bring members of various communities closer as these days efforts are being made to create a wedge between various communities said dugribased sheikh even as we serve cold drinks and fruits to everyone we cook dal paneer and mixed vegetable for our brothers from other communities muslim community members were served biryani those who attended sheikhs iftar party said that it was a great experience i attended the iftar party for the first time and it was a wonderful experience our muslim brothers also celebrate festivals including diwali with us this is a perfect example of brotherhood said varinder kumar bhalla a resident of canal view religious leaders said punjab is known for communal harmony shahi imam punjab maulana usman ludhianvi said such iftar parties have been held in various parts of the state he said the fact that members of various religions attend iftar parties indicate that there is no religious hatred in punjab unlike some some areas in other states this is history of punjab that even before partition members of muslim sikh and hindu communities used to celebrate various festivals together such an example of communal harmony should be there across the country the shahi imam added such iftar functions are being held on the outskirts of ludhiana too the bond between various communities in our state is strong so we participate in each others festivals and functions not only members of other communities participate in iftar parties they also get food items including dates fruits pakodas jalebi for iftar we are really touched by such gestures of other communities said sitar muhammad president of muslim mahasabha punjab and resident of libra village near khanna he said not only members of other communities attend the iftar functions they do come to greet muslim community members on eid in a unique gesture members of sikh community held an iftar party at gurdwara in jainpur near malerkotla recently a number of members of muslim community led by dr naseer akhter of sikh muslim sanjhan attended the function on this occasion muslim community members offered namaz at the gurdwara baba amarjit singh a prominent personality in the area expressed his happiness over muslims attending the iftar function held at the gurdwara