Mumbai: After Muslims shifted the date of the Eid-e-Milad processions in Mumbai from Friday to Monday to avoid the Ganesh visarjan gatherings, the Maharashtra government has announced that Monday, September 8, will be a public holiday in Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban districts instead of Friday, September 5. Other districts will continue to observe the holiday on September 5.
The government stated that, since Anant Chaturdashi will be observed on Saturday, a meeting of Muslim organisations was held on August 21, 2025, to promote brotherhood and Hindu-Muslim unity in the state. In that meeting, the Muslim community has decided to organise the procession on Monday, September 8, 2025. Members of the Legislative Assembly, Amin Patel and Rais Shaikh, had requested the government to shift the public holiday as Muslims had voluntarily changed the date of the procession.
Eid-e-Milad celebrates the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, and 2025 marks the 1500th anniversary of his birth, which is also considered the date of the founding of Islam. In India, processions are taken out the next day. The All India Khilafat Committee organises the Mumbai procession. In the past, the procession was led by a prominent national leader. Later, local leaders were invited as the chief guests.
This year, the committee has yet to announce the chief guest. Community groups are expecting a prominent national personality to head the event this year, as it is the 1500th anniversary of Islam and its prophet. There are talks that a Member of Parliament and an important Maharashtra minister declined the invitation to lead the procession. The trustee of Jama Masjid suggested that Manoj Jarange Patil, the leader of the recently concluded agitation for Maratha reservation, should be invited as the chief guest.
