Overview
- Saudi Arabia and most Gulf states will mark Eid al‑Adha on Wednesday, May 27, while most of India will observe the festival on Thursday, May 28, and Jammu and Kashmir will follow May 27 based on its local clerics.
- India’s Personnel Ministry issued a note closing central government offices on May 28, and several states updated schedules: West Bengal declared May 28 a holiday, Kerala ordered a two‑day holiday on May 27–28, and Jammu and Kashmir retained May 27.
- The differing dates stem from the Islamic practice of declaring months by local hilal, or crescent‑moon sighting, which sets the start of Zil Hajj and therefore the 10th‑day Eid that follows the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.
- UAE authorities published Eid prayer timings for May 27, advising worshippers to arrive early and to use authorised slaughterhouses and services for Qurbani, while media outlets and religious bodies circulated guidance on rituals and meat distribution.
- The split calendar affects workers, schools and pilgrims by shifting which day is taken off locally and by altering travel, prayer and Qurbani plans, so communities should follow their local religious authority or official notice for the final timing.