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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Deadly Commute

Mumbai has always taken pride in its local trains, which have been celebrated as the city’s lifeline. It has long been a democratic institution that carries millionaires and labourers alike, and a symbol of the resilience that Mumbaikars so often boast about. The brutal murder of a 22-year-old passenger inside a moving local has exposed a darker reality. The city’s most cherished public service is no longer merely overcrowded and uncomfortable but is becoming steadily unsafe. The victim,...

Deadly Commute

Mumbai has always taken pride in its local trains, which have been celebrated as the city’s lifeline. It has long been a democratic institution that carries millionaires and labourers alike, and a symbol of the resilience that Mumbaikars so often boast about. The brutal murder of a 22-year-old passenger inside a moving local has exposed a darker reality. The city’s most cherished public service is no longer merely overcrowded and uncomfortable but is becoming steadily unsafe. The victim, travelling in a first-class compartment of a Churchgate-Nallasopara fast local, became embroiled in an argument over whether the train door should be kept open during heavy rain. The disagreement escalated into fatal violence after the accused pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the abdomen. As blood pooled on the floor of the compartment, passengers merely stood there watched in horror. A video of the aftermath showed the alleged killer walking away with the weapon in hand without anybody stopping him. For years, a rough but effective social order prevailed in the Mumbai local train. While commuters may have jostled for space and exchanged harsh words, there remained an unwritten code of conduct for keeping outright criminality at bay. Mumbai’s trains have long been dangerous in one sense. Every year, hundreds die while crossing tracks, hanging from footboards or falling from overcrowded coaches. But passengers rarely feared being murdered inside the compartment itself. S Even more troubling was the reaction of those present. The footage suggests that dozens of passengers chose self-preservation over intervention. While few citizens would willingly confront an armed attacker, the images nonetheless reveal a growing atomisation of urban life. Millions travel together every day, but increasingly as strangers who feel no responsibility towards one another. Mumbai’s famed collective spirit has now become a slogan repeated only after disasters rather than a reality visible in everyday life. The authorities, too, have questions to answer. How did an individual carrying a knife manage to board and travel through one of the busiest suburban rail networks in the world? Why does visible security remain so sparse despite years of promises about surveillance, modernisation and passenger safety? The Railways have invested heavily in technology, announcements and infrastructure upgrades. Yet commuters continue to encounter inadequate policing and an absence of deterrence. The larger concern is cultural. Across India’s cities, there is evidence of rising public aggression. Minor disagreements increasingly escalate into violence. Road-rage incidents, neighbourhood disputes and social-media-fuelled confrontations frequently end in bloodshed. Patience, compromise and restraint appear to be in retreat. Mumbai likes to imagine itself as different from the rest of India. The local train murder suggests otherwise. A city is judged not by its skyline but by the safety of its ordinary spaces. When passengers can no longer assume that they will return home alive from a routine train journey, something fundamental has gone wrong.

Contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill tabled in Lok Sabha

  • PTI
  • Apr 2, 2025
  • 2 min read

New Delhi: Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday tabled the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, as proposed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, in the Lok Sabha for consideration and passage.


The bill seeks to improve the administration of Waqf properties, introduce technology-driven management, address complexities and ensure transparency.


Introducing the bill, Rijiju said the consultation process of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was the largest ever exercise carried out by a parliamentary panel in India's democratic history.


He said over 97.27 lakh petitions, memorandums were received by the JPC through physical and online formats and the JPC had gone through each of them before finalising its report.


The minister said as many as 284 delegations submitted their views on the bill besides the Waqf boards of 25 states and Union Territories.


Legal luminaries, charitable organisations, academicians and religious leaders, among others, have also submitted their opinions, he said.


"The government is not going to interfere in any religious institution. The changes made in the Waqf law by the UPA government gave it overriding effect over other statutes, hence the new amendments were required," Rijiju said amid noisy opposition protest.


"You tried to mislead the people on issues which are not part of the Waqf Bill," Rijiju told the opposition.


This bill has nothing to do with religion, but deals only with properties, he added.


According to the bill, trusts created by Muslims under any law will no longer be considered Waqf, ensuring full control over the trusts.


As per the bill, only practising Muslims (for at least five years) can dedicate their property to Waqf, restoring pre-2013 rules. Also, women must receive their inheritance before Waqf declaration, with special provisions for widows, divorced women and orphans.


The bill also proposes that an officer above the rank of collector will investigate government properties claimed as Waqf.


In case of disputes, the senior government official will have the final say on whether a property belongs to Waqf or the government. This replaces the existing system where such decisions are made by Waqf tribunals.


Also, the bill proposes that non-Muslim members will be included in the central and state Waqf boards for inclusivity.


Women must receive their inheritance before Waqf declaration, with special provisions for widows, divorced women and orphans.


Earlier, Speaker Om Birla rejected the opposition's objections that the government has no power to insert new provisions in the amended bill.


Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the bill was tabled after a long process of consultations carried out by the JPC.


Shah said the bill was first introduced in August 2024 after which, as sought by the House, it was referred to the JPC, which held long consultations on it.


The JPC report was approved by the Union Cabinet before the bill was tabled in the House.


"This is a democratic committee. This committee did not act like the Congress-constituted committee. It followed proper procedure and consultations," Shah said.

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