UP Cops Book Man For 'What'sApp Talaq'

The Hathras district police in Uttar Pradesh has registered a case against a man for allegedly giving instant triple talaq to her wife over a messaging app in Kashiram township colony on Friday.

“She had filed a complaint with the police on July 27. We have registered a case. Actions will be initiated in this regard as per laws,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Siddharth Verma.

According to the woman, Shamaparveen, her husband Mohammed Ehsan gave her triple talaq and sent the ‘talaqnama’ over the messaging app — WhatsApp.

There were allegedly some discords between the couple after eight years of marriage.

“My husband got me to sign the divorce papers without my knowledge and gave me the divorce. I don’t want a divorce. I want him to be punished,” said Shamaparveen. (ANI)

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Talaq Law

‘Talaq Law Empowers Muslim Women’

Shayara Bano, 37, shot into limelight when the Supreme Court, acting on her petition, declared triple talaq unconstitutional. Now with Parliament passing a law to ban instant talaq, she hopes for a better world for her daughter.

I am not used to being in the limelight — getting so much attention. From 2002 to 2015, the 13 years that I was married to Rizwan Ahmed, I was confined, segregated, bullied and beaten up. Speaking to people, stepping out of the house was unthinkable for me. Life changed when my petiiton to ban talaq-e-biddat, led the Supreme Court to declare triple talaq ‘unconstitutional’, ‘arbitrary’ and ‘not part of Islam’.

And now that Parliament of India has brought about a law criminalising triple talaq, people want to hear my story. So this is what I tell them, and to all Muslim women, who have been given a new lease of life through this law: 

Laying waste to my Masters degree in Sociology, I got married to Rizwan, a small-time businessman from Allahabad in 2002. I was hardly 23 then. Taking up a job was an absolute no-no. In my husband’s family, it was against tradition for a woman to step out from the confines of their homes and build a career.

Several years went by. Quarrels and arguments with my husband, interspersed with dowry demands from my in-laws, were an integral part of my marriage. I was never allowed to go out or interact with anyone. The marriage was claustrophobic for me. I would not be completely dishonest, if I said that on many occasions I had thought of leaving my husband and breaking free. But by that time I had given birth to my two children. The thought of my children being raised in a broken home, stopped me from taking any hasty decisions. 

In the year 2014, I started keeping unwell. I was diagnosed with a severe infection in my kidneys and liver. And this is when things started getting worse for me. Despite my ill-health, I was subjected to physical and mental torture. Whenever I asked my husband to take me to a doctor, he would simply refuse. If I dared to talk back, I would be thrashed.   

One day in 2015, my husband boarded me on a train and left me at the Moradabad station to die. He was gracious enough to inform my parents. They had to come all the way from Kashipur to pick me up. 

A few days later, on October 10, Rizwan sent me a ‘talaqnaama’ via speed-post. It came as a shock initially. How could he do it? Our children’s future was at stake here! I was distraught. But then I decided to fight it out. He should not get away with ruining my family, snatching away the children from their mother.

On April 23, 2016, I filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding a ban on triple talaq. Acting on the petition, the Supreme Court declared the custom unconstitutional. However, cases of triple talaq continued to surface. A strong law was the need of the hour. I am happy that the parliament has passed the law. This will go a long way in the emancipation of Muslim women in India. After centuries of historical injustice, finally Muslim women have a law to safeguard their rights. 

Critics say that criminalising triple talaq will leave the victim without any financial support if the husband is sent to jail. But the truth is that this law will prevent men from giving triple talaq to women in the first place. The law will nip the problem in the bud. 

However, Muslim women need a lot more such laws to safeguard their rights. Malpractices, such as polygamy and halaala are still prevalent. Halala is a custom, in which if a divorced woman has to reunite with her husband, she has to marry another man for a night and then get a divorce. Initiatives need to be taken to imporve literacy levels among Muslim women too. 

I have a 15-year-old daughter, and I hope to create a better world for her. Inshah-Allah, we will have it soon.

Amarnath Yatra Begins

J&K Govt Curtails Amarnath Yatra

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday advised Amarnath Yatris and tourists to curtail their stay in the Valley “immediately”, shortly after the Indian Army said Pakistani terrorists are planning to disrupt the pilgrimage.

“Keeping in view the latest intelligence inputs of terror threats, with specific targeting of the Amarnath Yatra, and given the prevailing security situation in the Kashmir Valley, in the interest of safety and security of the tourists and Amarnath Yatris, it is advised that they may curtail their stay in the valley immediately and take necessary measures to return as soon as possible,” the state government said in a security advisory.

Addressing a press conference earlier, commander of Srinagar-based Chinar Corps, Lt Gen KJS Dhillon said, “In the last three to four days, we got confirmed intel reports that terrorists are trying to disrupt the Amarnath Yatra. A thorough search was carried out on the routes by a combined team of the Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police.”

Dhillon said, “We had achieved major successes. An M-24 American sniper rifle with a telescope and a landmine with Pakistan ordnance factory markings have been recovered. The route of the Amarnath Yatra was sanitised for three days.”

Last week, the Union Home Ministry had ordered the deployment of additional 100 companies of central paramilitary forces in the state. One company comprises around 100 personnel.

Pilgrims who were on Amarnath pilgrimage on Friday expressed their disappointment over the government advisory asking them to curtail their trip but agreed that the step may have been taken because of security concerns.

Sonu Verma, one of the pilgrims, told ANI: “We have heard the announcement on the news. No official announcement has been done at the base camp. This is a matter of grave sadness that we living in our country but we cannot go on our Yatra.”

“However, we also don’t want to go without security. The government has taken the decision for the best,” he added.

Yashwant Sharma, another pilgrim, said: “We have been waiting here for the past four days. We will make the move as soon as the government announces about our safety.”

“We came here with the hope to go on darshan. However, how can we go if the government feels there is a security threat,” he added.

ANI

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Janaki Mata Temple in Ayodhya

Ayodhya Mediation Fails, Hearing On Aug 6

The mediation panel on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute has failed to achieve any final settlement in the matter, the Supreme Court on Friday said and decided to hold day-to-day hearing in the case from August 6.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, who was heading a Constitution bench, said, “We have received the mediation report. The mediation panel has not been able to achieve any final settlement. The hearing of the case will be on a day-to-day basis, hearing begin from August 6.”

A senior lawyer appearing for one of the Muslim parties, Rajeev Dhavan, submitted to the Supreme Court that he will take 20 days to argue his case. To which, the CJI said, “We will see about it.”

A Constitution bench, headed by Justice Gogoi, had on July 18 asked the three-member committee, headed by retired apex court judge FMI Kalifulla, to continue with the mediation process and submit a report on the progress made till July 31.

The bench also comprising S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer, took up a batch of petitions seeking an end to the mediation process and the start of hearing in the Ayodhya title suit.

The petitions have submitted that no progress has been made in the mediation ordered by the apex court to explore an amicable settlement to the land dispute.

Among the petitioners is Rajendra Singh, son of one of the original plaintiffs — Gopal Singh Visharad.

On July 11, K Parasaran, the senior lawyer for Singh, had argued that the mediation process is unlikely to yield any positive result.

“Since mediation is unlikely to bring any positive result, the court should give a date for a hearing in the case,” he had submitted.

However, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan had contested the stand taken by Parasaran for bringing the mediation process to end.

After perusing a report of the panel, the bench had said if it came to a conclusion that an amicable solution through mediation was not possible, then the court would commence day-to-day hearing in the matter.

On March 8, the court had constituted the panel which also comprises Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior Madras High Court advocate Sriram Panchu.

Fourteen appeals are pending before the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict which ordered equal division of the 2.77-acre disputed land in Ayodhyaamong the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

The 16th-century Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992.

(ANI)

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CBI Forms Team On Unnao Case 'Mishap'

The Central Bureau of Investigation has constituted an additional special team of 20 investigating officers to assist in the probe into the accident in which Unnao rape survivor and her lawyer were seriously injured and her two aunts killed on Sunday.

The team will consist of Superintendent of Police (SP), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Inspector and Sub-Inspector (SI) level officers.

“The team has already been sent today to the location. Apart from this, a six-member CBI Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) team experts from different fields has left for the location where the incident happened,” said the CBI spokesperson.

He said the investigation in the matter will be conducted in the light of the direction given by the Supreme Court.

Earlier in the day, a team from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrived at the site where the Unnao rape survivor, her lawyer and two aunts met with an accident on July 28.

On July 28, a truck rammed into the vehicle in which the victim was travelling. While her two aunts died at the spot, she and her counsel suffered major injuries and are undergoing medical treatment at the King’s George Medical University in Lucknow.

The Supreme Court had, on August 1, asked the CBI to investigate within seven days the mysterious case of the accident.

The top court also ordered the transfer of all cases related to Unnao rape incident from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi.

The Uttar Pradesh Police filed a case of murder against expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and nine others in connection with the accident.

Probe in the case was transferred to the CBI on July 30.

Sengar, a legislator from Bangermau in Unnao district, had allegedly raped the girl at his residence in Unnao on June 4, 2017, where she had gone to seek a job. He is currently lodged in Sitapur district jail. (ANI)

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‘Hooligans Bring A Bad Name to Yatra’

Rakesh Kumar, 40, is a veteran kanwar who has made 30 trips from Haridwar to Greater Noida on foot. Kumar is disturbed that kanwariyas have now become synonymous with hooliganism and bullying en route the pilgrimage.

We, kanwariyas are worshippers of Lord Shiva. Every year, during the month of Hindu month of Shravan, we walk to Haridwar to fetch water from the Ganges for the Shiva lingas in our local temples. Over the years, while the arrangements for the kanwar yatris have improved manifold, some miscreants have tarnished the image of kanwariyas. I feel ashamed when people say that kanwariyas and hooliganism are synonymous with each other. There always are some bad elements among the kanwariyas, who unnecessarily create nuisance and pick up fights on road.

I am a veteran kanwar yatri. This year, it is my 30th trip. I started as a child at the age of 10, when I accompanied my father. And not once have I flouted any rules or picked up fights.  All these years Bhole Baba (Lord Shiva) made sure that I was safe and I made sure that stuck to his mantra. Shivji drank poison to save the world, can’t we drink our anger and egos during kanwar yatra to make it a wonderful experience, not only for us, but also for the passersby? We must remember that we’re worshipping Lord Shiva and we must stick to the principles he taught us.

The Uttar Pradesh government has provided more than what we ever asked for, so as Shivbhakts, it is our duty to maintain peace and tranquility during the yatra.

Kanwariyas are bound to obey rules. There must not be any leniency for those who flout traffic rules to indulge in brawls on the roads. 

There have been several improvements in the arrangements ever since, Yogi Adityanath came to power in Uttar Pradesh. 

Earlier, there were kanwar camps with minimal facilities and we had to go to the nearby farms to relieve ourselves. But now, each camp has portable toilets, basic medical facility and much better space to relax. With dedicated lanes for kanwariyas on the busy roads and highways, there are lesser accidents. There were days when kanwariyas used to sleep on the roads due to overcrowded camps leading to fatal accidents. But now the administration has dealt very smartly with the issue. 

Rules have been laid out to make the yatra a pleasant experience for everyone. And as responsible citizens we need to adhere to them. 

Things will get better when the kanwariyas are regularised and identification of each devotee is registered before yatra. This will also help in insurance of the kanwariyas and tracing the missing ones. I am a transporter and I know the importance of obeying traffic rules.

The government has realised that kumbh and kanwar are not just religious festivals, they attract tourists as well. If the government makes kumbh-like arrangements for kanwar yatra, there will definitely be a surge in the number of devotees (especially women). 

In the past four years, I have witnessed an increasing number of women yatris because of the   availability of toilets and other safety arrangements. If this continues, there will be a day when kanwar yatra will become an international attraction.

Is It the End Of Liberalism, World Over?

The current set of democratically-elected leaders have little understanding of the deep contradictions of global order, or their own conflict-ridden societies

The circle is now complete. Major democracies — the ‘oldest’ (Britain), ‘greatest’ (the United States) and the ‘largest’ (India) – all have elected populist, aggressive government leaders. This sounds the death-knell to whatever is left of political liberalism.

They all want to make their respective nations ‘great’, which is fine. But they stand charged with using divisive methods at home and adopting protectionist and exclusivist measures abroad.

The ‘greatest’ is erecting walls, wooing North Korea while winking at Russia and China and threatening Iran, the bête noire in West Asia. The latest muse is Imran Khan who must keep the Afghan door ajar to facilitate an American flight faster than Vietnam.

The ‘largest’ is calculating a $5 trillion economy and become a ‘guru’ to the world. But on the ground, it protects its bovine population in a mix of death to those who kill or tan it, but profits for those who export it.

‘Outsiders’ and those not in sync with the majoritarian agenda are asked to leave. Someone ordained: “go to the moon” – and this is not inspired by Chandrayan 2, the moon mission.

As their number mounts, finding a common thread becomes difficult. But their varying agendas using race, religion, region, ethnicity, colour, besides trade and global concerns like the climate change, has become the new normal. It has pushed the world further to a restless and triumphant political right.

The democratic distinction that they give themselves but deny to others is blurred. Vladimir Putin recently said: “the liberal idea” had “outlived its purpose.” The growth of populist movements throwing up ‘nationalist’ leaders and political parties across the world suggests he is correct.

Long before Donald Trump, these movements brought to power Viktor Orban (Hungary), Erdogan (Turkey), Duterte (the Philippines) and Matteo Salvini (Italy); with populists sharing power in Poland, Austria, Slovenia, Finland and Estonia. In France and Germany populist parties are set to play an increasing role in coming years. Brazil’s Bolsanero is a latter day addition – and more are coming.

Xi Jinping and Abe Shinzo would fall in that category.  So would Benyamin Netanyahu and a common friend of them all, Narendra Modi.

The latest is Boris Johnson. His aggressive Brexit advocacy is part of the same isolationism.

“I’ll make Britain great again’, Johnson says, distinctly echoing Trump. For a former journalist and editor of prestigious journals, he is being unoriginal. But then, he feels close to Trump and despite Trump’s past fusillades against him, they (add Imran, too) are now a mutual admiration society.

Johnson, a biographer of Winston Churchill, sees himself in that leader. But times and contexts change. As Economist says, like Churchill, Johnson has also inherited Britain’s worst crisis since World War II. Brexit, Britain’s self-goal, could do or undo him, with deep repercussions either way.       

To be fair to Boris, strictly going by promises made last week, he has defied many things that Brexit crusade has been about. Many Britons have viewed it from racism and anti-immigration prisms. Brexit was about reductions in future. But Boris has said he will make legal half-a-million illegal or unregistered immigrants, introducing a number system with some compassion.

Boris, given his Turkish ancestry, perhaps, has done better than Trump who, although of German descent, wants ‘outsider’ to quit America. Sustaining Britain’s inclusive approach, he has a Pakistani Muslim to manage finance and a via-Africa Indian woman to pilot the immigration and counter-terrorism policies. Only time will tell how Britain holds out against the global illiberal avalanche.

There is hope, perhaps. As an Urdu expression goes, “umeed par duniya kaayam hai,” (hope sustains life).  Post World War II, whatever be their political belief, people could aspire for a better future. That hope is sinking with the advent of this century.

Unwelcome, migrants are ghetto-ed and ill-treated, if not killed. No trade union rights. No dissent. Not even disagreement. Even elections, with varying degrees of democratic processes, are only hurtling people in one direction. Humans live by hope. But there is no utopia to live for.     

Sadly, the current set of our leaders have little understanding of the deep contradictions of the global order, or their own conflict-ridden societies. They engage in politics of name-calling and sensationalism, Trump’s boast that he could kill 10m Afghans, but won’t, is a classic example.

If truth be told, this didn’t’ begin with Putin or Trump. From the 1980s onwards beginning with the Reagan-Thatcher combine, ruling classes all over the world presided over a period of psychological repression. A new normal was propagated through media, education and other means — that a world free of exploitation and injustice is impossibile. Inequalities are increasing, and are justified.

By the 1990s, younger generations had come to believe that There Is No Alternative (TINA). They were told that the idea that we share of collective interests is simply hogwash. It was explained in the name of individual liberty and advancement.  

Liberalism is probably more challenged in India today than anywhere else because the country is the most diverse. Self-proclaimed custodians of caste and religion enjoying tacit political support are dictating people who they must meet, converse with, befriend and marry, what they should eat, wear, watch or read, whether or not they can use mobile phones, and even where they can go and when.

Aided by a corporate-owned media driven by profits and eyeballs, a public culture of hurt sentiment, violation of honour, with social and political license given to react to it in any brutal manner possible has been created. This climate of fear affects artists, intellectuals and even ordinary persons in public conversations.

Most founders of the Indian Republic (Nehru above all) aspired to create a liberal society. They did not foresee the extent to which it would, over time, evolve in a decidedly illiberal direction. Today, Nehru is a swear-word.

Here again, if truth be told, this did not begin yesterday. The political forces claiming to lead, and thriving on, a liberal ethos – the Congress, the communists, the socialists and the likes – themselves adopted illiberal courses and have now yielded space to those they fought. They are only whining today, unable to unite and fight back.

Mercifully, societies are not monoliths. Whenever and wherever a new draconian normal takes root, there are always forces who speak out for the oppressed. But as ordinary people increasingly become integrated into a digital political sphere in which melodrama rules, states and corporations will become more adept at manipulating ‘public opinion’. Already, those opposing it are being termed seditious.

Is it, then, the end of liberalism the world over? This is, like asking at the spiritual level: is it the end of Kalyug, the ultimate downfall?

Academic-journalist Pratap Bhanu Sharma says the end of liberalism is announced very frequently globally. “It’s almost like a recurring theme that there is a fundamental infirmity that makes it periodically vulnerable.”

This eludes a clear answer – if there is one.  

The writer can be reached at mahendraved07@gmail.com

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