The holy month of Ramadan is here as millions of Muslims gazed up at the night sky and searched for what most of us scroll right past without a second thought, the moon. Not a full moon, not a spectacular lunar eclipse. Just a thin, timid slice of light, barely there, clinging to the horizon. But when that crescent showed up, it triggers something that no government decree, no alarm clock, and no notification on any app ever could. The holiest month of the Islamic calendar- Ramadan begins. And in a region as Muslim as Kashmir, everything will come to a spiritual bless overnight. The same will be the case for Muslims around the globe.
It’s Not Just a Fast, It’s a Lifestyle
Let’s begin with the fundamentals, since Ramadan is frequently misinterpreted by those who don’t practice the faith. It’s not just about fasting. For the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims, it’s a whole month of soul renewal, no eating, no drinking, no smoking from the first hint of dawn until the sun dips below the horizon. Every single day, for 29 or 30 days running.
The day kicks off with Sehri, a pre-dawn meal before the Fajr prayer, typically between 4 to 5 AM. It’s like a fill-up before embarking on a long road trip. Then comes the fasting, and it perseveres through the heat, hunger, thirst, and the waiting, until finally, the sun goes below the horizon, and the Maghrib prayer call rings out from the mosques. This is known as Iftar, the breaking of the fast, which typically involves a glass of water and a date, followed by a full-fledged dinner with family, friends, and sometimes even strangers.
The nights are filled with extensive prayers known as Taraweeh, which go on well past midnight in the mosques. And within the last ten nights of the month lies Laylat-ul-Qadr, the Night of Power, which is also the night when the Holy Quran is said to have been revealed for the first time. Muslims believe that the worship performed on this night is better than a thousand months of regular prayers. So, yes, sleep is a luxury in Ramadan.
The Moon That Decides Everything
The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, which means that every month begins only after the sighting of the new crescent moon in the sky after sunset. If the crescent moon is visible on the 29th night of the ongoing month, the next day is the first day of the new month. But if the sky is cloudy or the moon is too weak to be seen, the month will have 30 days, and you have to wait for one more night.
This year, the new moon is likely to be born on February 17, but it would be only a few hours old and thus not visible to the naked eye. But by the evening of February 18, it might be visible in some parts of the Middle East. For India, including Kashmir, the sighting of the new moon is likely to take place on the evening of February 18, and thus February 19, 2026, will be the first day of Ramadan in India. But until then, no one says anything. There is something wonderfully human about this uncertainty. In a world of digital calendars and instant messages, one of the world’s great religions stops and looks up at the sky.
Kashmir: Where Ramadan Feels Different
So, let’s bring that image to Kashmir, and the magnitude is simply staggering. The Kashmir Valley has a staggering 97% Muslim population, making it one of the most homogeneously religious places in the entire South Asian subcontinent. In the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, there are over 85 lakh Muslims living in the region, comprising 68% of the total population. When Ramadan arrives in this region, it doesn’t merely affect people, it changes the entire social tempo of the Kashmir Valley.
In Srinagar, the old city begins to stir with the aroma of Noon chai, the signature pink tea of Kashmir, and Girda, a crispy fried Kashmiri bread, which is had at Sehri. In the evening, the roads around the Jama Masjid, a mosque that is over 600 years old, are lined with vendors selling samosas, sharbat, dates and dry fruits to break the fast at Iftar. People come together. Neighbors exchange food. Even those who aren’t fasting hold back in reverence.
The nights are for prayer. Taraweeh prayers in Srinagar mosques can go beyond midnight, with believers lining up shoulder to shoulder in the freezing February weather, because in Kashmir, Ramadan in winter means fasting in the cold, and no one complains.
Ladakh: The Roof of the World, Also Fasting
Less talked about, but no less potent, is Kargil in Ladakh. At over 2,700 meters above sea level, where the February nights are still cold enough to freeze your bones, Kargil’s largely Shia Muslim population marks the month of Ramadan with a stoic, iron-clad commitment. The Muslim population in Kargil district is 76.9%, and here, fasting is not merely an act of piety but a challenge to the mountain’s altitude, cold, and silence.
Leh, the Buddhist stronghold of Ladakh, also has a 14% Muslim population, a reminder that this land, divided between cultures, has always been home to multiple faiths side by side.
Why It Matters Beyond Religion
In a place that has known decades of political upheaval and change, the Ramadan in Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh is also political, in the most profound sense of the word. The communal fast, the communal prayer, the communal Iftar table, these are acts of identity, of belonging. They say: we are still here, we are still us.
When the moon shows itself in the Kashmir sky two nights from now, it will not only signal the beginning of a religious month. It will signal the beginning of something that has been happening in this valley for over a thousand years: a community deciding, together, to pause. That is something worth looking up for.
The writer is pursuing MA in New Media Communications at IIMC, Jammu.
