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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.

Who Took the Cookie Out of the Jar?

Writer: Amol Deshmukh
Amol Deshmukh
Nov 19, 2024
3 min read
cookie

In today’s hyper-connected world, the word ‘cookie’ evokes more than just the buttery delights that accompany a cup of tea. Beyond the realm of nankhatai and chocolate chip confections lies another, far less appetizing variety: the digital cookie. These virtual snippets, invisible to the naked eye, are the linchpin of modern online functionality, facilitating everything from smoother website logins to tracking consumer habits. Yet, just as cookies crumble under a bite, so too can the veil of digital privacy when these data packets are misused.


The Good Cookies: Embedded in websites and stored on users’ devices, cookies were created to enhance online experiences. Their role in streamlining the digital journey is significant: session management, personalized browsing, and efficient data retention are just a few examples of how cookies can be beneficial.


Cookies: These ephemeral files exist only for the duration of a user’s visit. When a browser is closed, session cookies vanish. Their utility is most evident in maintaining a seamless experience. For instance, preserving login status or retaining items in a shopping cart.


Persistent Cookies: Unlike their transient counterparts, persistent cookies linger on devices for a predetermined time. They allow websites to remember user preferences, such as language settings or recurring login details.


First-Party Cookies: Cookies generated by visited sites enable core functions and basic analytics. When used responsibly, they enhance convenience and create a personalized digital experience. But as the saying goes, every rose has its thorn.


Not all cookies are benign. What starts as a simple text file can quickly become a tool for intrusion. The shift from convenience to compromise is seamless and often invisible to users.


While cookies aid data retention for targeted advertising, they also offer opportunities for cybercriminals. Browsing data can turn into exploitable digital dossiers, escalating tracking from ad personalization to security risks. This fuels a data brokerage industry where user data is compiled and sold, blurring the line between utility and intrusion. Cookies underpin this multi-billion-dollar market, often unbeknownst to users whose actions are part of a hidden auction.


One of the more insidious exploits, session hijacking, can be triggered through man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks or Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). By stealing session cookies, cybercriminals can bypass login credentials and impersonate users. In cases of online banking or cryptocurrency platforms, the implications are severe. Reports from 2019 to 2020 highlighted a wave of incidents where session cookies were used to gain unauthorized access, leading to substantial financial thefts.


In sensitive sectors like banking, stolen session cookies let attackers impersonate users and access accounts without passwords, highlighting the need for strong security measures like encryption and multi-factor authentication. Persistent cookies are prime targets for phishing schemes, capturing data on fraudulent sites and enabling identity theft. Modern phishing campaigns use advanced techniques where cookies are key, embedding malicious code in legitimate-seeming emails or sites to deceive users into revealing data.


Persistent cookies also find their way into shadowy practices involving ‘supercookies’ and ‘zombie cookies’ - variations that can regenerate even after deletion. These are used to track user behaviour far more invasively, making it difficult for individuals to regain control over their data. Supercookies bypass conventional cookie management settings and, when combined with device fingerprinting, can build a uniquely identifiable profile of users that is nearly impossible to erase.


The banking sector, among others, has seen the risks of cookie exploitation play out in stark detail. In documented cases between 2019 and 2020, cybercriminals successfully stole session cookies to impersonate users, accessing accounts and draining funds. The response from the financial industry included ramped-up security protocols and increased user education—an acknowledgment that even the most innocuous digital elements can harbour latent threats.


Another high-profile incident involved a series of attacks on cryptocurrency platforms, where stolen session cookies were used to bypass two-factor authentication (2FA). This allowed attackers to infiltrate digital wallets and trading accounts, siphoning off significant sums and eroding trust in the security of such platforms.


To mitigate cookie risks, understanding their dual nature is essential. Users should clear cookies and browser history regularly, use tools to block third-party cookies, stay vigilant against phishing, and use HTTPS sites. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds a defence layer even if session cookies are compromised. Organizations need to educate users, update security protocols, use ‘HttpOnly’ and ‘Secure’ cookie attributes, and promote logging out when accounts are not in use to minimize risks.


Cookies, much like their edible namesakes, can bring comfort and delight or, in the wrong hands, create a mess. While they undoubtedly enrich the online experience when properly managed, their potential misuse calls for vigilance. Users must stay informed, and organizations must continuously bolster cybersecurity to ensure that digital crumbs do not invite unsavoury guests to the table.


(The writer is a cyber security expert and serves as a technical advisor to the Maharashtra government. Views personal.)

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