A lot has been said and done regarding Triple Talaq in the country for past three months. In a statement, PM Modi also urged to not view Triple Talaq as a political issue. It is to be noted that Supreme Court, country’s apex court has declared instant Triple Talaq invalid in 2002 in Shamim Ara vs. State of UP.
Whilst the debate against the issue is going strong, a Muslim group on Wednesday accused the BJP government of communalising triple talaq, while terming its proposal of Uniform Civil Code an attempt to impose Hindu personal law.
“BJP has made a lot of noise (about triple talaq and nikal halala). Without questions, they are communalising and politicising the whole issue,” Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) General Secretary Javed Anand told IANS.
‘Nikah halala’ is a practice intended to curb incidence of divorce under which a man cannot remarry his former wife without her having to go through the process of marrying someone else, consummating it, getting divorced again, observing the separation period called ‘Iddat’ and then coming back to him.
He said that it was “interesting” that this call for an Uniform Civil Code came from one particular ideological quarter – the Sangh Parivar – but there was no clarity on what it would entail.
“We have repeatedly and publicly asked for the BJP or anyone from the Sangh Parivar to offer a draft of what a Uniform Civil Code would look like. Which code are they referring to? Is it the concept of it or is it about the uniform gender justice?” he said, adding the demand from one side only leads rise to a suspicion that it could only be an attempt to impose Hindu personal law and that’s why there is opposition.
IMSD terms itself a forum of Indian Muslims who subscribe to the view that the core values of Islam – equality, justice, compassion and peace – are in consonance with the principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Delhi chapter of the organisation was launched here on Wednesday with the immediate goal to get triple talaq, halala and polygamy be declared unconstitutional.
“Triple talaq not only violates the constitutional rights guaranteed to Muslim women, it is, in fact, anathema to Islam itself. Islamic law prohibits Triple Talaq in certain terms,” said IMSD’s Zulaikha Jabeen.
Anand also said that discussions on rights of Muslim women hasn’t come up under the BJP’s rule but have been debated among the community for long.
