India, July 20 -- By Dr. K. Javeed Nayeem, MD

The year was 2006 and I was one of the members of Anjuman-E-Hadiqatul Adab, then nearly a century-old small organisation, which with its handful of members, had always been working towards preserving and promoting culture, literature and communal harmony in our city. That was the year we Anjuman members decided to do something novel by holding an Eid Milan dinner every year after Eid-ul-Fitr, the festival marking completion of Ramzan, the month during which Muslims across the world fast.

We felt that instead of only members of our community celebrating the Eid, it would be better if we made it an occasion where we could invite members of every other community and every walk of life, to share...