The way to a man's heart, they say, is through the stomach. The best way to keeping a nation's heart healthy is also – sort of – through the stomach. As long as people invite each other to a meal in a civilised fashion, there is hope that their politics will remain civilised. The tradition of iftaar parties in the month of Ramzan, hosted by political leaders and prominent office bearers such as the President of India has been part of an attempt to enact this civility.
The most important iftaars are not hosted by Muslim leaders. They are hosted by those who neither observe Ramzan, nor celebrate Eid in their own homes. By hosting an iftaar, they merely indicate that they are mindful of Muslim citizens, that they are willing to share in their joys. The unspoken implication is that their sorrows and fears will not be dismissed.