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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.

Collaborate with religious leaders, teachers, and community groups to enhance public safety

Correspondent
Nov 16, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Nov 18, 2024

Praveen Dixit

In an interview, Praveen Dixit, IPS, Special Rapporteur NHRC for Maharashtra & Goa, and Director General of Police (Retired) Maharashtra, talks about the challenges before the police force and the solutions. Excerpts…


Q: Convicted gangsters like Lawrence Bishnoi and his rivals are increasing their activities, and the situation seems similar to the Bombay of the 90s. What are your thoughts on this emerging situation?

A: The situation in Mumbai today is starkly different from the 1990s. Back then, Dawood Ibrahim and his rivals hired convicted sharpshooters. Now, gangs recruit unemployed youth under 17 with no criminal record. Crime has become borderless, involving recruits from remote areas across the States and beyond.


Key figures like Amol Bishnoi, brother of Lawrence Bishnoi, are operating from abroad, with associates in Canada and other countries. Suspected state-backed operatives from China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka may also be involved.


Three international factors complicate India’s security: ultra-leftist groups, Muslim fundamentalist sympathisers, like ISIS and Al Qaeda affiliates, and anarchist-backed organisations like those supported by George Soros. Rising trends in drugs, weapon smuggling, cybercrime, and cryptocurrency converge to exploit religious, regional, and social divides, fuelling organised crime’s rapid growth.


Q: What are the challenges before our law-enforcing agencies?

A: Crimes like youth radicalisation, jihadi recruitment, smuggling, cybercrimes, and cryptocurrency often have external links, with some countries sponsoring terrorism and fake currency.


Q: Gangsters in jails have access to mobile phones and other contraband and continue to commit crimes like murder, extortion, and smuggling. How can this be stopped?

A: Indian jails suffer from outdated infrastructure and British-era laws, with repeated calls from the Supreme Court for updates. Overcrowding in metropolitan jails contrasts with underused district jails, while trial delays worsen jail populations. Under the Bhartia Nagarik Suraksha Sanvita (BNSS), video conferencing has enabled remote bail hearings and healthcare access for over 11,000 prisoners since 2017. Most jails need modernisation within 5-7 years, with issues like mobile misuse and unauthorised media access on the rise.


Q: What is your take on Baba Siddiqui's matter?

A: More than 20 accused have been arrested from across the country. As per the investigating officer, jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother Anmol, believed to be living in Canada, was allegedly behind the murder, but the motive was not clear. The accused were provided weapons, cartridges, SIM cards, and mobile phones. It appears neither Baba Siddique nor his son had disclosed these threats. Celebrities receiving threats must inform the police immediately and avoid any routine that makes it easy for them to be identified and assaulted. This may be a business rivalry, not a political assassination. The investigation will determine the motive.

Q: Is Mumbai returning to an earlier period of the 90s when celebrities were receiving threats from underworld gangs?

A: Today, with legislation such as the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) as modified in 2012, and the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act, the police are in a much stronger position to ensure stern action against criminals on record. These preventive measures would ensure the situation of the nineties would not relapse. Those receiving threats should avoid paying extortionists. People should have faith in the competency of the police and help the police to nab these criminals. At the same time, people should also take maximum precautions as suggested by police on their websites about their safety.

Q: What other steps are needed to improve the situation?

A: Cybercriminals use fake threats like digital arrests and social media scams to defraud crores daily. They launder money through 'mule' accounts, 4.5 lakh of which were frozen last year, often using stolen KYC documents. Police are investigating the bank officials involved.


To protect yourself, avoid unverified calls, suspicious apps, and unsolicited email links. Confirm recipients before transferring funds. Report scams to cybercrime.gov.in or dial 1930/14407.


Preventing youth drug abuse is also vital. Rehabilitation centres are available, and the 1056 DISHA helpline offers support. Reintegrating juveniles through skill training can deter crime.


Police should collaborate with religious leaders, teachers, and community groups to enhance public safety.

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