By Abdul Hafiz Lakhani
New Delhi: Close on the heels of Modi government deciding to push through the Triple Talaq Bill in Rajya Sabha, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is scheduled to engage in a detailed discussion on Triple Talaq in a three-day long plenary starting from February 9 to 11 in Hyderabad. In a major move, the AIMPLB is all set to introduce a new clause in its Model Nikahnama or marriage contract, where the groom will have to pledge in writing that he will not give instant divorce to his wife. The board is also expected to finalize its roadmap on the protection of Muslim personal laws.
AIMPLB has humiliated Indian Muslims
Let us take a look in recent past about this controversy .AIMPLB and Ulemas are responsible for the humiliation of Indian Muslims. Supreme Court kept asking for alternative of Triple Talaq (a pre-Islamic practice, which came into vogue during the times of Caliph Umar). Instead of going with the suggestion that we will follow the Quran, the AIMPLB and Ulemas kept repeating the “Boycott and Fine” method as remedy to eliminate Triple Talaq. They were delusional to think that Supreme Court will give the law enforcement rights (imposing fine/ boycott) to them. They were also wrong to think that Supreme Court will buy this argument that fine/ boycott will eliminate this abhorrent practice.
They were unaware of the gravity of the situation. They were thinking that Supreme Court will outlaw it, but we will continue to practice it. People like Asaduddin Owaisi, Maulana Arshad Madni etc voiced this strategy, to counter a potentially adverse judgment on instant triple talaq. It never crossed their mind that judges can foresee the problem in banning something without an alternative. This is why judges kept asking for an alternative from AIMPLB and Ulemas. Helplessness, incompetence or regressive mentality (or all of it) came in the way of them taking a position which is consistent with Quran.
RSS will frame divorce laws for Muslims
Net result is that now the RSS will frame the divorce laws for Muslims. Given the prevailing political scenario, they can push anything in parliament. Any party opposing the laws will become Muslim-only party. Largescale protests will only give them opportunity to hurt us more, both physically and mentally. Resultant polarization would improve their chances of victory in 2019, even with the bad economy.
Keeping in view the verdict and the law that will be made by Parliament, the Muslim community in India will have to think of what has actually been achieved by AIMPLB’s stand in the Shah Bano case and the subsequent Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986. All that the community aggressively fought for is lost. That act is now history.
What Muslims lost because of AIMPLB
In contrast, look at what was lost. The chain of events caused by the mobilization of Muslims after the Shah Bano judgement are there for all to see. This led to the immense polarization of Hindus, the like of which never seen in post-Independent India. The argument was that if Muslims can cause a SC judgement to be overturned for their religious feelings, Hindus can equally demand changes to the law of the land, for their religious feelings.
The Hindu consolidation became possible only due to the Muslim mobilization. Rajiv Gandhi had to balance the appeasement of Muslims over Shah Bano with the appeasement of Hindus, and took steps that opened the Babri Masjid issue.
The support for Hindu identity based politics went up. Hindu right wing BJP’s Lok Sabha seat tally increased from 2 to 85. A Rath yatra traversed the cow belt. From the early 90s BJP began winning states. In several states, it maintained successive unbeaten terms.
Later in the 90s, the BJP formed coalitions and came to power. Recently, the BJP became the world’s largest political party in terms of primary membership. And in a mere 30 years, the entire political space has been ceded to the right wing. Today the Head of State and Government are all from BJP – President, Vice President and Prime Minister. As of today, BJP and its allies rule 18 out of 28 states in the country.
It may be that all these things would have happened anyway. And, the stand of Muslims in Shah Bano is not the prime contributor. Co-relation and not causation. May be, but unlikely! In any case, hopefully our rehnumas /leaders learn from this and make choices that are more pragmatic. To be able to see beyond the immediate and to act accordingly is a key function of leadership.
Meanwhile, even as Modi government tries to pass the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, in the Rajya Sabha as well, the Board has already said that anyone who practices instant Triple Talaq will face social boycott. Further, to put an end to this practice, the AIMPLB has also proposed to add another clause in the ‘Model Nikahnama’ where the man will pledge not to give instant Triple Talaq. This amendment, the AIMPLB believes, will reduce the number of Triple Talaq cases.
AIMPLB member Rahimuddin Ansari said, “Our endeavour is to make the community more aware of the issue and understand that instant Triple Talaq is against Islam and the law of the country. The final decision on this will however be taken in the meeting.”
AIMPLB 3-day meeting
The executive members of AIMPLB will attend a meeting on 9th February to decide on its agenda, and full day sessions with over 600 Muslim scholars from across the country will be held on February 10 and 11 to deliberate on the issue.
“The two main agenda of the meetings are to discuss the Triple Talaq Bill and the Babri Masjid case, which is scheduled for hearing in the Supreme Court starting February 8. It’s a very crucial meeting in view of the issues concerning the Muslim community,” said Rahimuddin Ansari.
During the three-day session, the AIMPLB will review the action taken by the Parliament on Triple Talaq Bill and take stock of the various cases pertaining to Muslim personal laws that are pending in various courts. The board will also take stock of the Babri Masjid case and plan its future action accordingly. They are also expected to take stock of the expenses being incurred due to the court procedures.
The AIMPLB will also discuss how to make effective use of social media to inform people about its activities and create awareness. The three-day plenary will conclude with a massive public meeting on February 11 at the AIMIM headquarters.
MIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi will be chairing the convention’s forthcoming reception committee. Mr. Owaisi was the lone Muslim MP to oppose the bill during the debate in Lok Sabha.
[Abdul Hafiz Lakhani is a senior Journalist based at Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He is regularly contributes to Siyasat.net – Gujarat’s First Online Muslim News Portal. He can be reached at editor@siyasat.net]
