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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.

India’s Defence Dilemma: Big Ambitions, Tight Purse Strings

Writer: Amey Chitale
Amey Chitale
Mar 26, 2025
3 min read

Despite rising threats and geopolitical gains, inadequate R&D and capital investment continue to undermine India’s military preparedness.

Over the past year, India’s defense landscape has evolved significantly. Diplomatic talks and disengagement agreements with China have eased tensions in Ladakh. The armed forces remain vigilant, with an enhanced focus on infrastructure development. Infiltration issues on the western border with Pakistan persist, while ethnic conflict in Manipur and the civil war in Myanmar require dedicated forces along the Indo-Myanmar border.


India’s defence budget for 2025-26 stands at Rs. 6.8 trillion, up 6 percent from the previous year. While the budget has grown 2.5 times over the past decade, its share of total spending has declined from 17 percent to 13 percent. At 1.9 percent of GDP, India’s defence outlay remains modest by global standards. Capital expenditure at Rs. 1.92 trillion has shrunk as a share of the total budget. Despite a four-fold rise over the decade, funding remains inadequate.


The Border Roads Organization has been allocated Rs. 7,143 crores for developmental works and Rs. 5,139.55 crores have been earmarked for establishment capex. The major components of the capex budget include Rs. 48,614 crores earmarked for aircraft and aero-engines, Rs. 63,099 crores for modern equipment, Rs. 11,452 crores for construction works and Rs. 24,391 crores for the naval fleet. Except for a 20 percent increase in the allocation for aircraft and aero-engines, funding for other categories remains flat.


The capex budget consists of two components: committed liabilities and new schemes. Committed liabilities are payments for contracts from previous years, while new schemes are projects likely to incur costs in the next financial year. From 2016-17 to 2019-20, the capex budget was insufficient to cover committed liabilities, raising concerns from the Standing Committee of Parliament. A proposed fund to address this issue has not yet been established, causing significant delays in execution.


The core revenue budget of Rs. 3.28 trillion includes allocations of Rs. 2.07 trillion for the Army, Rs. 0.38 trillion for the Navy, Rs. 0.54 trillion for the Air Force, and Rs. 0.12 trillion for DRDO. The Defence Ministry’s total salary bill is Rs. 1.68 trillion, accounting for 51 percent of the core revenue budget. The Army spends 60 percent of its budget on salaries, while the Navy, Air Force and DRDO spend 39 percent, 42 percent, and 44 percent, respectively. Balance funds are towards maintenance, upkeep, and operational needs. The non-core revenue budget of Rs. 1.60 trillion is entirely meant for pension bills. The introduction of the One Rank One Pension scheme has led to a significant increase in pension spending over the last decade.


The budget allocation for DRDO has decreased from 4.7 percent of the defence budget in 2014-15 to 3.9 percent in 2025-26, which is insufficient for significant R&D in emerging technologies. In contrast, China and the US allocate 15 percent to 18 percent of their budgets to R&D. Additionally, several DRDO projects have faced significant delays. Notably, the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, initially expected to join the fleet in the 1990s, was only inducted in 2016. Similarly, Project 75, aimed at inducting six submarines by 2017, was completed only in December 2025.


India’s defense ambitions remain stymied by shrinking R&D and inadequate capital investment. The Air Force, meant to field 42 squadrons, operates just 31, hobbled by an aging MiG fleet and delayed acquisitions. While recent deals for Rafale jets and S-400 missiles signal a shift, reliance on imports persists as 30 percent of modernization funds flow abroad.


The government’s push for self-reliance under AtmaNirbhar Bharat has spurred defense exports, now at Rs. 21,083 crores, with a Rs. 50,000-crore target by 2028-29. Yet, India’s 0.2 percent global share underscores its struggle to carve a foothold in the arms trade.


India has made significant economic progress recently. As a developing nation focused on bolstering internal ecosystems, there are constraints on increasing defense spending. However, increasing R&D spending is essential. Pension liabilities are a significant burden, and the government should consider funded pension schemes for defense personnel to alleviate future burdens. Additionally, a non-lapsable capex corpus should be introduced to utilize unspent capital in future years.


India has emerged as a formidable player in the geopolitical arena, with strong foreign relations and increased acceptance as a strategic partner, thereby reducing defense vulnerabilities. However, without bolstering our capabilities, goodwill alone won't safeguard us in emergencies. Developing strategic defense capabilities is indispensable for the Viksit Bharat mission to become a reality.


(The author is a Chartered Accountant with a leading company in Mumbai. Views personal.)

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