In India, Ashura is a part of Muharram and will be observed starting on Tuesday, July 16 in the evening and lasting until Wednesday, July 17. Second only to Ramadan in terms of holiness, Muharram is the first month on the Islamic calendar. Furthermore, the Islamic New Year will begin on July 17. In numerous states, banks will be closed on this day because the Indian government has declared it a gazetted holiday.
These are states where banks will remain closed:
- Andhra Pradesh
- Andaman & Nicobar
- Bihar
- Chhattisgarh
- Delhi
- Gujarat
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Jharkhand
- Karnataka
- Lakshadweep
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Mizoram
- Odisha
- Rajasthan
- Tamil Nadu
- Telangana
- Tripura
- Uttar Pradesh
In addition to these states, Meghalaya will also observe a holiday on U Tirot Sing Day to honour the memory of freedom fighter U Tirot Sing, so banks there will also be closed. People who want to visit the banks on Wednesday can therefore make appropriate plans. In addition, because of Muharram, the stock exchanges, including the NSE and BSE, will be closed on July 17. However, it should be noted that normal operations for net banking, mobile banking, online transactions, and ATMs will not be interrupted. The RBI calendar indicates that July 2024 will see 12 bank closures, including weekends and local holidays.
