BENGALURU: From the offering of morning prayers to festival proceedings, each ritual in Eid-Al-Adha sends out a unique message. In the spirit of the act of Qurbani, which signifies the Festival of Sacrifice, L K Atheeq, principal secretary, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, decided to celebrate Eid in a different way this year.
Along with other government employees, Atheek has donated his day’s salary to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. Further, Atheek has taken up the responsibility of educating two underprivileged kids who had lost their mother recently. “The children were brought to Bengaluru from Pavagada after their mother’s death. We decided to cover the educational costs for a year. Now, the kids are attending St. Michaels English School, RT Nagar,” he said.
Atheeq emphasises that one should contribute to education as it’s crucial for humanity. Supporting the education of the underprivileged will help in the betterment of their future. With floods ravaging various parts of the state, he feels that contributions should be directed towards the education and upliftment of the poor and needy.
Within his personal capacity, Atheeq has contributed a large sum of money towards Zakat (charity), which has also been directed towards educational reforms. It is a form of alms-giving treated in Islam as a religious obligation, forming an important part as one of the Five Pillars of Islam. He further added, “My wife and I have earlier attended to educational and medical needs of the underprivileged.”
In future, Atheeq aims to help out underprivileged communities through similar acts. Concluding with a message to the Muslim community, Atheeq said, “One should take Zakat seriously and spend for the betterment of all communities. We should lift one another, regardless of religion.”