There is something wrong with the moon. At the beginning and end of every Ramzan, it hides itself behind a veil, like the beloved of our poets. It shows a glimpse only to the people in the remotest parts of Balochistan and NWFP. It makes sure that they do not live anywhere near a place that has a phone. So, the poor fellows travel for hours to convey around midnight the good news to some maulvis in the Lunatic (or Moon) Triangle (Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda) that they alone saw what the entire country could not. Invariably, they turn out to be very pious people, whose evidence can be accepted readily in accordance with strict Shariah standards, without even seeing them.
Since there is no way we may persuade the moon not to behave like the traditional beloved, let us ignore its devious way and follow the Buddhists of Sri Lanka, who know better. After all, they have been watching it for about twice longer than us.
In Buddhism, 14th of every lunar month is a sacred day, when special prayers are offered. So, it is a public holiday in Sri Lanka every month. The Government calculates these holidays every year in advance for all 12 months. It cannot afford to make an error or will have to face the wrath of the entire nation. At the same time, it also works outs the dates of religious holidays for the Muslims. The dates never turn out to be incorrect.
We do not have unanimity on the appearance of the moon despite involving thousands of maulvis in Ruet-i-Hilal Committees all over the country at national, provincial, district and tehsil levels. So, why bother any more? The Government should use astronomical calculations regarding the moon and announce them in the beginning of the year, along with corresponding holidays. If some people want to follow the obscurantists, let them do it. They are already doing it anyway.
