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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 8:56:24 pm

‘Save Sharia’ campaign feeds Hindutva politics

Mumbai: Prominent Muslims and others have slammed the All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s ‘Save India, Save Sharia’ nationwide campaign, alleging that it could deepen polarization while willy-nilly supporting the very forces the AIMPLB claims to oppose. Launched on Sep. 17 – coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 76th birthday – the AIMPLB’s 3-month-long campaign is aimed at mobilizing public opinion around protecting the Constitutional rights, preserving the Muslim Personal Law...

‘Save Sharia’ campaign feeds Hindutva politics

Mumbai: Prominent Muslims and others have slammed the All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s ‘Save India, Save Sharia’ nationwide campaign, alleging that it could deepen polarization while willy-nilly supporting the very forces the AIMPLB claims to oppose. Launched on Sep. 17 – coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 76th birthday – the AIMPLB’s 3-month-long campaign is aimed at mobilizing public opinion around protecting the Constitutional rights, preserving the Muslim Personal Law within the framework of safeguarding India’s pluralistic and democratic character. The AIMPLB leaders said they are soliciting support of people, intellectuals, activists, social and religious organisations who value justice, democracy, peace and the Constitution, to strengthen constitutional supremacy, the rule of law, justice and equality, religious freedom, social harmony and national unity. Around 100 progressive Muslim and non-Muslim intellectuals, activists, organisations and supporters have warned that what the AIMPLB presents as a defence of constitutional rights, religious freedom and Muslim identity "could deepen divisions, and may provide political ammunition to right-wing forces". The progressive have accused AIMPLB of selectively invoking Art. 25-30 of the Constitution related to Religious Freedom, while ignoring that these rights are explicitly subject to public order, morality, and health. Moreover, they conveniently bypass Articles 14 and 15, which guarantee equality before the law and prohibit sex or religion-based discrimination. “Following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections where civil society and opposition parties rallied under 'Save the Constitution', the AIMPLB's campaign inadvertently gave the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sangh Parivar a platform to posture as defenders of constitutional norms. Ahead of crucial state assembly elections, this campaign reinforces false narratives and fuels propaganda that Indian Muslims reject the law of the land,” said the intellectuals. They pointed out how the so-called ‘God-given Shariat Law’ in India is nothing but man-made personal laws and ‘male interpreted patriarchal interpretations’, defended by the AIMPLB. In its September 2016 Supreme Court affidavit in the Triple Talaq case (Sayara Bano v/s. Union of India), the AIMPLB’s affidavit claimed divorce rights belong primarily to husbands because men allegedly possess ‘greater power of decision-making’ and ‘control emotions’. It even argued that without a quick separation option, a husband ‘may resort to illegal, criminal ways of murdering or burning her alive’ - a disturbing rationalization of domestic violence. Claiming these laws are divine, the AIMPLB admitted that “India is a patriarchal society, and therefore personal laws of all communities are aligned with the patriarchal notion...” The progressives countered that Muslim-majority nations globally including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tunisia and Morocco have codified and reformed personal laws to protect women's rights. “Millions of Muslims live in secular democratic nations with uniform family codes without putting ‘Islam in danger’. The Muslim community’s current legal predicament in India is the direct result of the AIMPLB and conservative leaders failing to proactively reform and codify Muslim Personal Law,” said the progressives sharply. They said that genuine family law reform must guarantee Muslim women equal rights regarding minimum marriage age, abolition of polygamy, mutual divorce, equal inheritance, child custody, adoption, and a ban on female genital mutilation and halala. While secular political parties rarely support the rights of Muslim women, the BJP and the Hindu Right wing do so with an obvious motive: ‘communal polarization’, said the progressives. “The sangh parivar sheds crocodile tears for Muslim women while ignoring relentless hate speech (Love Jihad, Land Jihad…) and hate crimes like mob lynching, bulldozing homes, demolishing mosques or economic boycotts, with chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to intimidate and strike fear. This accompanies state actions targeting Muslims: Waqf Amendment Act, draconian anti-conversion laws, and a weaponised SIR (Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls) to disenfranchise vast sections of the electorate,” they averred. The progressives have sought the active involvement of all enlightened forces, civil society organisations and secular political parties to ensure that the demand for a gender-just, religion-neutral Uniform Civil Code is rooted in equality and human rights, rather than weaponized for communal division. Among the signatories to the appeal are: Naseeruddin Shah, Amol Palekar, Zeenat Shaukat Ali, Anand Patwardhan, Sultan Shaheen, Teesta Setalvad, Ram Puniyani, Tushar Gandhi, Mallika Sarabhai, Ratna Pathak, Feroze Mithiborwala, Anita Cheria, Zakia Soman, Jyothi Yedulla, Noorjehan S. Niaz, Madhu Bhaduri, et al.

April and Summer Vacations

Writer: Kaustubh Kale
Kaustubh Kale
Apr 11
2 min read

While I definitely love my work, April always makes me nostalgic about a concept we all loved as children - summer vacations.


Summer vacations meant freedom. They meant slower mornings, afternoon naps, mangoes, learning a hobby, family trips, cricket with friends, and the simple joy of not having to look at the clock every hour. It was a time filled with excitement, relaxation, and the feeling that life could be enjoyed at your own pace.


As adults, however, that feeling becomes rare. We wait for long weekends, public holidays, and a few precious vacation days to truly unwind. That naturally raises an important question - why do we need to escape from work to enjoy life? Why can every day not feel a little more like a summer vacation?


Well, in the long run, it can. The secret lies in giving your future self through investing.


Power of Money

One gift that keeps on giving, whether you are working, travelling, relaxing, or spending time with your loved ones, is the power of money working for you. The beauty of investing is that, even while you are taking a break, your investments can continue growing quietly in the background. Good businesses (stocks) keep working. Mutual funds keep compounding. Over time, your money begins to create support systems that are not dependent only on your daily effort. That is the real magic of investing. It gives you options. It gives you flexibility. And eventually, it can give you freedom.


Investing Is a Habit

Of course, this does not happen overnight. Financial freedom is not built in one summer. It is built through years of discipline. Saving and investing are habits, and like all good habits, they start small and strengthen over time. You do not need to be ultra-wealthy or a financial expert to begin. You simply need the willingness to start, the patience to stay consistent, and the wisdom to invest in the right places.


Your investments must align with your financial goals and ideally be in inflation-beating assets such as equity and hybrid mutual funds, direct stocks, and gold. The idea is simple - your money should not sit idle while prices keep rising around you. It should grow, compound, and participate in your journey toward a better future.


Twenty Years Can Change

Two decades of sensible and disciplined investing can change the entire texture of your life. After 20 years of smart investing, your life can begin to feel far less dependent on fixed schedules, salary cycles, and constant financial pressure. Your whole year can start feeling lighter, more flexible, and more enjoyable.


That is the true goal - not merely wealth, but freedom.


Thought for April

So, as April reminds you of childhood summers and carefree days, let it also remind you of something deeper. Start investing. Invest sufficiently. Stay consistent. Let your money work while you rest.


Because the real summer vacation is not one that lasts for a month. It is the one that financial freedom can give you for life.


(The writer is a Chartered Accountant and CFA (USA). Financial Advisor. Views personal. He could be reached on 9833133605.)

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