top of page

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.

The Enchanting Fest

Writer: Prithvi Asthana
Prithvi Asthana
Aug 20, 2025
3 min read

From commandos to judges and actors to athletes—voices united to spark a revolution in the youth.

One of Asia's biggest festivals, conducted annually by St Xavier’s College, the Malhar Fest, concluded on a high note on 16th August. Musician Chaar Diwari’s concert was the perfect finale act to conclude the power-packed fest. This was the 46th edition of the fest and was held on 14, 15, and 16 of August, 2025. It was a perfect three-day fest, with rain pouring down heavily almost every day, but it did not hold the crowd back from attending the fest. The crowd's energy was in tandem with the rain, making the fest more zestful.


The Malhar Fest is the flagship fest of St Xavier's College and is the much-awaited fest of the year. This year, the theme was ‘The World Within’. When people focus on the outside world, the Malhar Fest, through its theme, reminds us that the world within is what makes the world outside us. With a workforce of around 700–800 students from various courses across the college, they came together to execute the Malhar Fest, setting yet another benchmark in the inter-collegiate festivals. The fest consisted of engaging events, inspiring conclave sessions, interactive workshops, and a high-powered concert. Performing arts and literary arts were the two main domains under which various events were conducted.


The Conclave Session

The theme, ‘Leher: Ripple Today, A Revolution Tomorrow’, of the Conclave session invites us to focus on one of the main aspects of youth’s personality, which is to innovate and create a ripple, empowering a change in society. The conclave session was held on the 15th and 16th of August. The speakers’ list was a perfect blend of personalities, from backgrounds like acting, law, sports, business, and authorship.


On the first day, the keynote address was delivered by Dr. Seema Rao, a revolutionary, the first and only woman commando trainer, “The Wonder Woman of India”. While sharing her life experiences, she instilled the traits of fearlessness, discipline, endurance, etc., into the youth present there. She focused on the hardships of life and delivered a thoughtfully curated speech aligning with the theme.


This session was followed by the session of the glamorous star cast of ‘Saare Jahan se Accha’, Pratik Gandhi, Anup Soni, Kritika Kamra, and Sunny Hinduja; their presence elated the atmosphere of the session.

The actors discussed college life and the struggles faced while pursuing their careers. Next to this session was SaiyamiKher’s session. Known for her extravagant roles in films, the St. Xavier’s College alumna talked about her journey and how college life at St. Xavier’s helped her navigate her work life.

Then came the entrepreneurial session with the founders of Benne Dosa, Akhil Iyer and Shriya Narayan. They conversed about taking risks in life and failure being a part of everyone’s life.


The concluding session of Day 1 was ironically the first sports session in Malhar’s history, with the panel consisting of Anmol Mazumdar (Head Coach of the Indian Women's Cricket Team), Bhagyashree Jadhav (a para-athlete and Paralympian), and Suma Shirur, a shooter (2004 Olympic finalist). They exchanged views on the woman’s role in the sports field. They mentioned the role of sports in their lives and how it taught them the hardest lessons of life.


Adding more energy to the atmosphere, the fest also witnessed the stellar performance of the star cast of the upcoming film, ‘Param Sundari’, Janhvi Kapoor and Siddharth Malhotra. The stars were present there to promote their film.


Day 2 started with the keynote address by Honourable Justice Revati Mohite Dere. Her words of wisdom left an everlasting impact on the youth. Speaking under the theme, she explicitly talked about the role of the judiciary in shaping society. Furthermore, she added that ‘impact’ is a critical part of revolution.


The main session of the day was with the politician, SupriyaSule, who spoke extensively on the topic of policy-making and also interacted with the youth in the audience. She highlighted that “policy making is an opportunity to change people's lives”. She encouraged the young leaders to consider politics as a career field and lead a revolution themselves if needed. The last two sessions were with the author Ashwin Sanghi and Aditya Roy Kapur, a Bollywood actor. Author Ashwin Sanghi, also an alumnus, spoke about the power of writing and storytelling. Aditya Roy Kapur, while offering insights into the world of cinema, also interacted with the audience by answering their questions.


The conclave team did an excellent job in curating and selecting the perfect speakers for the session that not only influenced the youth but also deeply resonated with this year’s theme. The fest was orchestrated and presented beautifully by the Malhar team. The exuberant crowd made this fest more engaging and youthful, raising the expectations for next year.


(The writer is a student in a college in Mumbai.)

Comments

bottom of page