Skip to main content

Triple talaq Bill: Will Modi, his govt 'address' the plight of Tabrez Ansari's widow?

By Adv Masood Peshimam
Those on campaign trail to justify persecution and atrocities never want any opposition to arise against them. Efforts are made to ensure that any murmur of protest against those who unleash incidents of violence against the weak and the feeble is nipped in the bud. Not without reason, Muslims find themselves as political orphans in India today. Today, they are tasting the bitter fruits of a hostile social and political climate.
There is little reason to doubt that Muslims have borne the brunt of communal violence over the years, with the venom in the pipeline always seeking to aggravate the situation. A major reason for this has been the failure of the Muslim leadership to assert, especially during critical situations when things deteriorate. Instead of taking things heads on, the leadership has tried to hide itself behind the language of submission, thus failing to rise to the occasion against the communal forces.
The lackadaisical performance of the Muslim leaders can well be attributed to the adherence to discipline of the party to which they owe allegiance. The situation has only become worse with the passage of time, causing monumental uncertainties. Things have reached such a point today that what we now witness is the dangerous phenomenon of mob violence or mob lynching, mostly directed at members of the Muslim community.
And what one sees today is, lynching and mob violence against Muslims are being justified with fake or trotted-out excuses. The spectre of new form of terror has only grown in height alongside a plethora of imaginary alibis. Right-wing leaders seek to stoke unreal fears against Muslims, creating a climate of hate and vitriol, through motivated foot soldiers, who go on a rampage with all the impunity.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, Narendra Modi
All the human values are thrown to the winds with the upsurge of communal agenda. The chain of lynching incidents has drifted things to lawlessness in Jharkhand. Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad, referring to the very traumatic killing of one Tabrez Ansari in Jharkhand, termed the state as the terror factory. The brutal killing of Ansari evoked worldwide protest and reactions. Even the American administration took note of the alarming polarization, leading to the brutal violence in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not like the expression of Nabi Azad terming Jharkhand as hub of mob lynching or mob violence. The dangerous scenario in Jharkhand and elsewhere in the country cannot be mitigated with seeking to go soft on such incidents. It should have been noted that things got complicated because of the indecent role of the police.
Yet, while poor Ansari succumbed to his injuries, Modi sought to take make it an exception, saying one should not defame Jharkhand. This is beyond logic and reason. What he seemed to try was to reduce the scope of questioning a murky scenario.
Modi and his government, obsessed with the plight of Muslim women with the introduction of triple talaq Bill, should have set an example by addressing the plight Ansari’s widow, as also other women widowed following the murder of their husbands during similar lynching incidents. Otherwise, what would be the meaning all the pious words of protecting the interests of Muslim women, except that the Bill is politically motivated and is empty rhetoric?

Comments

TRENDING

Gujarat's high profile GIFT city 'fails to attract' funds, India's FinTech investment dips

By Rajiv Shah  While the Narendra Modi government may have gone out of the way to promote the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), sought to be developed as India’s formidable financial technology hub off the state capital Gandhinagar, just 20 km from Ahmedabad, a recent report , prepared by Tracxn Technologies suggests that neither of the two cities figure in the list of top FinTech funding receiving centres.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Why Ramdev, vaccine producing pharma companies and government are all at fault

By Colin Gonsalves*  It was perhaps Ramdev’s closeness to government which made him over-confident. According to reports he promoted a cure for Covid, thus directly contravening various provisions of The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. Persons convicted of such offences may not get away with a mere apology and would suffer imprisonment.

Decade long Modi rule 'undermines' people's welfare and democracy

By Ram Puniyani*  Modi has many ploys up his sleeves when it comes to propaganda. On one hand he is turning many a pronouncements of Congress in the communal direction, on the other he is claiming that whatever has been achieved during last ten years of his rule is phenomenal, but it is still a ‘trailer’ and the bigger things are in the offing as he claims to be coming to power yet again in 2024. While his admirers are ga ga about his achievements, the truth lies somewhere else.

Belgian report alleges MNC Etex responsible for asbestos pollution in Madhya Pradesh town Kymore: COP's Geneva meet

By Our Representative A comprehensive Belgian report has held MNC Etex , into construction business and one of the richest, responsible for asbestos pollution in Kymore, an industrial town in in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh. The report provides evidence from the ground on how Kymore’s dust even today is “annoying… it creeps into your clothes, you have to cough it”, saying “It can be deadly.”

Malayalam movie Aadujeevitham: Unrealistic, disservice to pastoralists

By Rosamma Thomas*  The Malayalam movie 'Aadujeevitham' (Goat Life), currently screening in movie theatres in Kerala, has received positive reviews and was featured also on the website of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The story is based on a 2008 novel by Benyamin, and relates the real-life story of a job-seeker from Kerala tricked into working in slave conditions in a goat farm in Saudi Arabia.

Can universal basic income help usher in sustainable egalitarianism in India?

By Prof RR Prasad*  The ongoing debate on application of Article 39(b) in the Supreme Court on redistribution of community material resources to subserve common good and for ushering in an egalitarian society has opened new vistas wherein possible available alternative solutions could be explored.

Plagued by opportunism, adventurism, tailism, Left 'doesn't matter' in India

By Harsh Thakor*  2024 elections are starting when India appears to be on the verge of turning proto-fascist. The Hindutva saffron brigade has penetrated in every sphere of Indian life, every social order, destroying and undermining the very fabric of the Constitution.

Press freedom? 28 journalists killed since 2014, nine currently in jail

By Kirity Roy*  On the eve of the Press Freedom Day on 3rd of May, the Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) shared its anxiety with the broader civil society platforms as the situation of freedom of any form of expression became grimmer in India day by day. This day was intended to raise awareness on the importance of freedom of press and to pay tribute to pressmen who lost their lives in the line of duty.

'Livelihood crisis': Hundreds of Delhi sewer contract workers suddenly retrenched

By Sanjeev Danda*  Sanitation workers in Delhi have been facing unemployment because of the inability of the government sector to properly integrate them. In a consultation meeting and dialogue with sanitation workers on 27th April 2024 at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi, many such issues were raised by the sewer workers and waste pickers of Delhi.