Sanjeev Sinha, associate editor of Kamal Sandesh — the Bharatiya Janata Party mouthpiece — received quite a bit of flak when he recently declared that he would keep roza during Ramzan as an expression of solidarity with Muslims. Sinha took to Facebook to declare so on May 28.

Sinha basically stated that 95 per cent of Indian Muslims’ ancestors were Hindus and they still follow Hindu customs. He went on to add that Indian Muslims have not allowed the spread of radical terror outfits like ISIS and that it is unfortunate that Hindu-Muslim relations have come under strain. While declaring that he would keep roza during Ramzan, Sinha suggested that it is important to take part in each other’s customs and rituals. While some comments on his Facebook post congratulated Sinha for this Atal-esque move, other expressed disappointment with this line of thought.

Yet others suggested that he may as well get a circumcision done to express solidarity with Muslims.

Sinha in a BBC post wrote about his post and being trolled for it. Speaking to Newslaundry, he said that all this has not deterred him from continuing with his roza. He said that his decision to observe Ramzan was an attempt to foster harmony among the Hindu and Muslim communities. “In my hometown in Bihar, there is a lot of cultural exchange that happens. People from different religions participate in each other’s festivals. Given the current climate where people are fighting and abusing on social media, I thought I should try to replicate what we did at home.”