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?

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