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ABVP accuses several media outlets of being party to ‘dirty tricks’ by ‘rattled commies’

OpIndia Staff
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ABVP accuses several media outlets of being party to ‘dirty tricks’ by ‘rattled commies’

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, took to Twitter on Friday and accused the media of being party to the ‘dirty tricks’ played by ‘rattled commies’.

During the DUSU elections, the media had reported that ABVP had put up posters promising to ban non-vegetarian food and short skirts in JNU. ABVP took to Twitter and alleged that despite issuing a clarification, media has been propagating the same lie and attributing fake posters to ABVP. They said that ABVP had not put up any such posters.


One of the news outlets called out by ABVP, the Indian Express, has changed its headline to reflect reality accurately. The headline which previously read, “Purported ABVP posters promise to ban short dresses in JNU, close eateries serving non-veg food” now reads, “ABVP says poster promising ban on non-veg food, short skirts in JNU is fake”.

The Times of India, however, hasn’t changed its headline although the report does mention ABVP’s Saurabh Sharma’s clarification. He reportedly said, “Left parties are scared of us and hence, this is propaganda against us. We have not issued any such poster.”

Hindustan Times, which published a report on the matter as well, has a headline that does not reflect the clarification that Sharma issued.

Various other outlets have published reports on the matter as well which fail to reflect ABVP’s denial of putting up the said posters in their headline. The media is known to have a partisan political agenda and their actions often reveal that there’s some definite truth to those allegations.

The curious case of IANS RTI and how the numbers claimed differ wildly from official govt data

OpIndia Staff
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The curious case of IANS RTI and how the numbers claimed differ wildly from official govt data

According to a reply to an RTI filed by news agency IANS, as per an NDTV report, no money has been spent on beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) in Uttar Pradesh despite the central government having allocated over three hundred crores of rupees to the state in the financial year 2017-18.

The NDTV report states, “Not a rupee of government money has been spent on pregnant and lactating women enrolled under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s much-hyped maternity benefit scheme till August 2018 in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), which happens to have India’s highest fertility rate, an RTI query has revealed.”

It further states, “According to the reply by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry, only 184 women have enrolled in UP for the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) since its inception in January 2017 up to August 2018 — out of 44 lakh women enrolled across the country in 717 districts.”

A Financial Express report makes similar claims about Uttar Pradesh. It states, “However, as per an RTI reply to IANS by the ministry, the number of women enrolled under the scheme till August 27 stood only 184 and beneficiaries paid was nil.”

This is in stark contrast with the data provided by the Ministry of Women and Child Development which ranked Uttar Pradesh as the best-performing state with over 8 lakh beneficiaries enrolled and over 5 lakh paid till date with a total of Rs. 188.80 crore spent on the scheme.

There appears to be some confusion regarding the contradiction between the official data provided by the government and the alleged reply by the Ministry to the RTI filed by IANS. It could be that the Ministry committed a mistake in its reply to the RTI, which would reflect gross incompetence and negligence on the part of the authorities involved; or it could be that the IANS committed an error in its report, as it did recently for which it issued an apology. Regardless, the Ministry should issue a clarification on the matter.

The scheme provides partial monetary compensation to women for the wage loss during childbirth and child care and provides conditions for safe delivery and proper nutrition practices.

Don’t be stupid, or OpIndia will do a report on you

Editorial Desk
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Don’t be stupid, or OpIndia will do a report on you

Nope, we are not the ones saying it, our well-wishers are. Md Asif Khan mentioned us on Twitter last night. So here we are.


PM Narendra Modi visited Indore yesterday to attend an event by the Dawoodi Bohra community. On the occasion of the ‘Ashara Mubaraka’, PM Modi addressed a huge gathering of the community at the famous Saifee Mosque in Indore. While PM Modi’s interaction and his mention of the long-standing bonhomie with the sect was praised by the media and public widely, some usual elements managed to find faults in it too.

Like this gentleman, who managed to photoshop a skull cap on PM Modi and was caught by alert Twitterati.


PM Modi has been blamed for virtually everything under the sun by secular liberals. In addition to every increasing paisa in fuel prices, the imaginary intolerance level of the nation, the melting glaciers on the north pole and migratory patterns of Siberian birds, it seems the PM is now responsible for seating arrangements finalised by event managers in the country.

After PM Modi shared the images from his interaction with the Dawoodi Bohra community journalist Saba Naqvi reacted to them by objecting to, of all things in the world, the lack of female faces within the captured frame. Because, well, why can a PM of a country not be responsible for how a photographer chooses to focus his camera. Is this Achhe Din?

Tweet By Saba Naqvi

After Md Asif pointed out that what Saba has claimed is incorrect and women were, in fact, present at the event, JNU ‘scholar’ Shehla Rashid still managed to find an excuse to show her veneration towards the PM.

Shehla Rashid’s tweet

The fact that women were present at the event was pointed out to Naqvi by many others.


Naqvi, however, was quick to shift the goalpost. From asking the PM about the seating arrangements, her speed of making it into a question posed by her die-hard feminist soul was much more than the escape velocity of Jupiter. Like a true co-liberal friend of Rana Ayub, she even managed to promote her own book in the same tweet.

Tweet by Saba Naqvi

However, Twitter, in its patriarchal, blind Modi bhakti, did not fail to notice it.


We too have a few burning questions for PM Modi. We would very much like the PM to answer why Jon Snow should not get to ride his own dragon and why the RSS and BJP are imposing Hindutva on NASA astronauts by making Orange colour spacesuits compulsory? The PM must answer.

Delhi court orders framing of charges against RK Pachauri in sexual harassment case

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi court orders framing of charges against RK Pachauri in sexual harassment case

A Delhi court paved the way for the framing of charges against the internationally acclaimed environmentalist, RK Pachauri for sexually harassing a woman colleague at the workplace by ordering that molestation charges be framed against him. Pachauri stands accused of sexual harassment and stalking by his former colleague.

Metropolitan Magistrate Charu Gupta of Saket court ruled on Friday that there was enough material to formally charge Pachauri and ordered framing of charges under sections 354 (Outraging modesty), 354A (Making physical contact, unwelcome and sexually coloured remarks) and Section 509 (Teasing and using vulgar gesture and actions) of the Indian Penal Code. She ordered that the charges be formally framed on 20th October.

Pachauri was, however, discharged of some other sections such as criminal intimidation and wrongful restraint stating that prima facie, these charges were not made out.

Welcoming the court order the complainant said, “I knew it (the framing of charges) would happen, but the question was ‘when’,” she says, adding “I breathed a sigh of relief today. This is a big leap towards the truth, which must triumph.”

Though the analyst said that she had never lost sight of the bigger picture and was deeply anguished that her tormentor’s career was not affected because of these allegations, and he is still invited to speak at conferences in India and abroad. “It is highly regrettable and shameful that he is invited to deliver sermons. I hope this hypocrisy stops. Women empowerment is not just for seminars but to be practised where it matters,” she said.

In February 2015, the Delhi Police had booked Pachauri, then aged 74, after a woman colleague accused him of making sexual advances more than a decade earlier. This led to his resignation as chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a post he had held since 2002. Over 1,400-page charge sheet was filed by the Delhi Police on March 1, 2016, saying there was “sufficient evidence” against Pachauri that he had sexually harassed, stalked and threatened the complainant.

Contrary to Pachauri’s claims that he had himself resigned from the institute, the new chairman of TERI’s governing council, Ashok Chawla, told The Economic Times that the institute had taken a “conscious decision” against extending his contract after its internal complaints committee held him guilty of ‘sexual harassment’ and recommended disciplinary actions against him.

Missionaries of Jesus booked for releasing photo of rape victim nun

OpIndia Staff
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Missionaries of Jesus booked for releasing photo of rape victim nun

The Kerala police have filed a case against the congregation Missionaries of Jesus for releasing the photo of the rape victim nun with the bishop she had accused of rape. As per laws, revealing the identity of a victim of rape or sexual assault is a crime. The case was reportedly lodged late on Friday.

Yesterday, the congregation Missionaries of Jesus has held a ‘preliminary inquiry’ and declared that bishop Franco Mulakkal is innocent and he did not stay in the Kuravilangad convent on the day the said nun has accused him of raping her. The congregation has also alleged that the nun, along with five others has conspired to frame the bishop.


The Missionaries of Jesus has also indulged in victim shaming by releasing a photo of the victim with the accused taken a day after the alleged rape took place. According to reports, the congregation had cautioned against the publishing of the photograph by the press and declared that it cannot be held responsible if the press does not follow the rules.

Following the release of the so-claimed ‘preliminary-inquiry report’ by the Missionaries of Jesus, the brother of the victim had approached DSP K Subhash, who is heading the SIT for the case and following his complaint, a case was registered at the Kuravilangad police station. The victim nun was a part of the Kuravilangad convent and has never appeared in front of the media or public after she filed the case against bishop Mulakkal.

In their ‘inquiry report,’ the Missionaries of Jesus had accused the nun of conspiring with others, forging the visitor’s registers and even tampering the CCTV footage to frame bishop Mulakkal.

It is notable here that the Kerala police is under criticism for taking too long to initiate action against the accused bishop. Last month the goons of the bishop had attacked journalists while they attempted to take his pictures after a visiting team of Kerala police had interrogated him. There have been several instances of victim shaming and attempts to protect the bishop in this case. Earlier an independent MLA in Kerala, PC George had called her a ‘prostitute’.

Pahad Singh: Heard senior members talk about the ‘activists’ arrested, unarmed Urban Naxals same as gun toting Naxals

Nupur J Sharma
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Pahad Singh: Heard senior members talk about the ‘activists’ arrested, unarmed Urban Naxals same as gun toting Naxals

Recently, some ‘activists’ were raided and put on house arrest by the Maharashtra police for their alleged involvement in Bhima-Koregaon violence and their alleged connection to the Naxal plot to assassinate Prime Minister Modi. The authorities have asserted that the said ‘activists’, Sudha Bhardwaj, Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Father Stan Swamy, Vernon Gonsalves and Gautam Navlakha have links to the Naxals and they have retrieved emails that prove their connection. The police have also claimed that they have retrieved emails that talk about organising the ambush of security forces, smuggling of arms to Naxals and other chilling details.

OpIndia conducted an interview of surrendered Naxal Pahad Singh who had been an armed Naxal for 18 years. He had surrendered to the Chattisgarh police on 24th August and is said to be a high ranking Naxal. This surrender has proved to be a massive win for the security forces.

In OpIndia’s interview, Pahad Singh had made startling revelations. We had earlier reported that during the course of our interview, Pahad Singh had said that he had met Arun Ferreira in a high ranking Naxal meeting where Singh was made the secretary of two areas. He had also alleged that senior Central Committee members were present at this meet and that Arun Ferreira is actually a member of the “Rajya Committee” of CPI (Maoist). It is noteworthy that at this point in time, the interviewer had not named any of the ‘activists’ arrested by the police.

After Pahad Singh named Arun Ferreira, the interviewer proceeded to read out the names of the ones arrested by the Maharashtra police. Among the names read were Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bhardwaj, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira.

Pahad Singh on Gautam Navlakha and Sudha Bhardwaj

Pahad Singh, upon hearing the names said that he used to hear these names during conversations between Central Committee members. He said he has heard Gautam Navlakha’s name from the Central Committee members in connection with his support for Naxals. That he writes books that support the ’cause’. However, Pahad Singh said that while he has heard the names of Gautam Navlakha and others from Senior Central Committee members like Venugopalan and Deepak Teltumbde, he had never met them. He also said that he cannot attest to what work he does but that he is a writer.

Pahad Singh also said that he has heard Sudha Bhardwaj’s name from Central Committee Members as someone who works in Bastar.

Pahad Singh on Varavara Rao

Coming to Varavara Rao, he said that he is one person everyone knows. He said he always gives a statement whenever there is a fight between Naxals and security forces and that it cannot be denied that he is a big supporter of the Naxal movement from Andhra Pradesh. He said, “unke paas sabh hai, wo sab jaante hai” (He has everything, he knows everything). The interviewer proceeded to ask what he meant and too that, Pahad Singh said that “he knows everything because whenever something happens, he gives a statement”. “Even after the Gadchiroli encounter, it was Varavara Rao who had given a statement asserting that it was a ‘fake encounter'”. Singh said everyone knows he is a Naxal supporter. And if Rao says he isn’t then why did he give such a statement.

Pahad Singh on ‘unarmed idealogues’ vs ‘armed Naxalites’

Upon being asked his views on the popular narrative that the ones arrested are civilised people, have no connection with Naxalism and are innocent activists who merely fight for the rights of the Adivasis and should not have been raided or arrested, Pahad Singh vociferously refused the premise that these people fight for Adivasi rights.

Singh said that Gadchiroli encounter wasn’t about Adivasi rights but about a battle between Naxalites and the security forces. He said that if Adivasis died in the Gadchiroli encounter, then the ones who say they fight for Adivasi rights should answer who pushed and brainwashed the Adivasis into picking up the weapon and dying for the Naxal ‘movement’. Singh said that ultimately, it is not the ones who die in the line of fire who is responsible, but the ones who brainwash them who should shoulder the responsibility. Ultimately, Singh said, the ones responsible are the ‘jobless intellectuals’ who tried to protect themselves in front of the court and the people at large but instigate Adivasis to pick up the weapon.

The interviewer then asks, “Do you think when these intellectuals write in support of the ‘armed struggle’, does the ‘movement’ itself get support?”. To this, Pahad Singh says that these sort of statements provide full support to the ‘armed struggle’. He said it is because of these people that Maoists and Naxalites are prospering.

In order to probe further, the interviewer asserts that these ‘intellectuals’ don’t actually pick up the weapon. Pahad Singh then retorts and asks the interviewer that if these people are innocents and not connected to the movement, how are the Maoists sitting deep in the forest ‘get access’?. He asserts that it is correct to assert that these people who make statements in support of the Naxals are at par with armed Naxalites.

Pahad Singh, convinced that the unarmed ideologues are as dangerous as the armed Naxalites, says that these ‘intellectuals’ are attempting to take the ‘movement’ to mammoth and dangerous proportions, which is one of the greatest threats and will end the existence of Adivasis.

Pahad Singh on Urban Naxals

When asked about the term “Urban Naxals”, Pahad Singh immediately says “Ye wahi hai” (It’s them). The interviewer continues to probe and tells him that some people disregard the term “Urban Naxal” completely and say that since their “right to dissent” is being curbed, they are the good ones and the government, which is curbing their freedom of speech are the culprits. Singh said that these people have various ways to infiltrate, insinuating, that ‘Urban Naxals’ have a way to infiltrate and further the narrative in a manner where they can influence others into joining the ‘movement’ and thus, create a massive ‘uprising’.

This portion of the interview can be viewed here:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aXo2CtSCIE]

Fact check: Did Congress leader really witness the ‘meeting’ between Jaitley and Mallya in 2016?

OpIndia Staff
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Fact check: Did Congress leader really witness the ‘meeting’ between Jaitley and Mallya in 2016?

Amidst the renewed controversy over Vijay Mallya fleeing the country in 2016, Congress leader PL Punia made a sensational statement yesterday. He claimed that he had seen Vijay Mallya meeting Arun Jaitley at the central hall of the parliament on 1st March 2016, the ‘meeting’ which was already clarified by Jaitley and Mallya, both. He claimed that Mallya & Jaitley had an intimate discussion for 20-25 minutes. He claimed that CCTV footage will provide evidence to prove his claim.


To check the veracity of this claim, news Channel News18 has studied the schedule of finance minister for the day, and they have found that it was impossible for Jaitley to have a meeting with Mallya for 20-25 minutes in central hall of the parliament on that day, because he had a packed day and his whereabouts are in public domain. It was the day after the presenting the union budget at the parliament and the finance minister had a very busy day.


According to the channel, Arun Jaitley submitted some papers in the parliament between 11 AM and 11.45 AM. After that, he left parliament and went to Vigyan Bhawan, to attend 40th Civil Accounts Day organised by CAG. The then president Pranab Mukherjee was the chief guest in the event which was covered by Doordarshan and the video of the same is available online. The finance minister spent almost 2 hours at the event.

One question related to finance ministry in Rajya Sabha answered by Jayant Sinha on 1 March 2016 question

On that day, Arun Jaitley did not attend the session at Parliament. The Rajya Sabha attendance record shows that he was not present at the session on 1st March 2016. All the questions asked to the finance ministry were answered by Minister of State Jayant Sinha, as per the record of questions available at Rajya Sabha website.

Moreover, had Mallya and Jaitley talked one to one for 20-25 minutes inside the Central Hall, this incident would have many witnesses. Not only MPs, even journalists who have covered a minimum number of parliament sessions are allowed entry in the central hall. The fact that nobody else has come forward to support Punia’s claim is important in this context.

Going by the evidence put forth, it is quite likely that the Congress leader PL Punia may not really have witnessed a ‘meeting’ between Jaitley and Mallya on 1st March, 2016.

Asif Khan alias ‘Ashu Maharaj’ made a fortune cheating people and now faces charges of rape

OpIndia Staff
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Asif Khan alias ‘Ashu Maharaj’ made a fortune cheating people and now faces charges of rape

Delhi police had arrested a self-styled godman named Asif Khan alias Ashu Maharaj from the Shahdara area last night. A woman from Ghaziabad had alleged that he had raped her and her minor daughter several times. According to reports, not only “Ashu Maharaj”, but his son and his friends had also raped her on multiple occasions. Currently, Asif Khan alias “Ashu Maharaj” is being interrogated by the police in Hauz Khas police station.

The woman had registered a case against “Ashu Maharaj” last week. He is facing charges under section 376 and the relevant sections of the POCSO act for raping the woman’s minor daughter. He is reportedly a multi-millionaire and owns several properties and expensive cars. He has acquired a significant follower base posing as an astrologer, palm reader and healer. During investigations, several interesting facts have emerged about this con-man.

‘Ashu Maharaj’ is originally Asif Khan. He belonged to a Muslim family in JJ colony in Delhi. A report in Navbharat Times has stated that he used to repair tyre punctures in JJ Colony. Asif Khan was reportedly kicked out from his family home by his father twenty years ago. After that Asif started posing as an astrologer and earning money by reading astrology charts (kundali) and prescribing black magic healing solutions. He reportedly became quite rich while practising in the Padma Nagar area. After a servant duped him of Rs 50 lakh, Asif Khan alias Ashu Maharaj reportedly shifted his business to the Rohini area in Delhi.

Asif Khan’s real name and identity were reportedly revealed when the police found his voter ID card. His name was mentioned as Asif Khan son of Idha Khan. His son’s name is Samar Khan. According to reports, Asif Khan also used to make medicines and claimed to be an Ayurvedic doctor to dupe people. Reports claim that he used to charge 25,000 rupees for a meeting.

‘Liberals’ seem to have got the definition of ‘dissent’ all wrong

Sambit Nayak
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‘Liberals’ seem to have got the definition of ‘dissent’ all wrong

The rent-a-cause protest industry in India works with amazing alacrity in a very well planned manner and clockwork precision. The modus operandi is to manufacture an issue, create national outrage and move on to next lie before facts emerge. Outrages by this industry come with a limited shelf life. So, one may wonder, what does this serve if it’s not being followed till its logical conclusion. Well, for one, it can’t be, because the outrage is founded on shaky grounds, a bunch of lies. Two, they don’t care about the issue or victims. All they care about is, to add to the narrative. Create a controversy where there is none, bolster the narrative, move on and allow the controversy to die its natural death before facts can counter.

Church attacks, award wapsi, intolerance are all part of this game. There is no substance, but it adds to the narrative. The narrative, that in Modi’s era, there is no space for dissent. And while on dissent, a recent event, naturally lapped up by this industry has gained particular prominence. The arrest of 5 people by Pune police with suspected Maoist links, who have been charged with instigating the Koregaon violence.

So let’s discuss what can be classified as dissent in a democracy. A customary look at dictionary tells me, holding an opinion or expression that is at variance with those commonly or officially held, refusal to accept doctrines and so on are some of the common definitions of dissent.

In view of this, let’s look at some examples of what is not dissent.

  • Gathering in a public place on a day Afzal Guru was hung to commemorate his “Shahadat” is not dissent.
  • Chanting “Bharat tere tukde honge” is not dissent.
  • Storing gelatine sticks and crude bombs to help armed struggle to overthrow a democratically elected government is again not dissent.
  • Advocating plebiscite in Kashmir and calling Kashmir “Indian occupation” is not dissent.
  • Hobnobbing with Ghulam Nabi Fai, an ISI agent, is not dissent.
  • Providing logistical support to Maoist movement is again, yeah you guessed it right, not dissent.
  • Instigating people for riots is not dissent.
  • Tutoring riot victims for perjury, to serve your political agenda, isn’t dissent.
  • And while we are on it, numerous bandhs, rail rokos and vandalising public property is not dissent either.
  • Planning to assassinate the Prime minister of the country, no matter how much you hate him, can’t be classified as dissent either.

All of the above is punishable under Indian law. So if none of these is dissents, then what is? Intellectuals of my country would like me to believe otherwise.  Let me try and cite a few examples.

  • What Prof Ambikesh Mohapatra of Jadavpur University did was dissent against the Mamata government.
  • Lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri dissented against Nehru
  • Kishore Kumar dissented against Indira Gandhi
  • Journalists and political opponents dissented against Indira Gandhi
  • Aseem Trivedi dissented against the Sonia Gandhi led UPA government.
  • Do you know, the honourable Supreme Court has passed orders which are outlaws dissenting against Mahatma Gandhi?
  • This is dissent

We all know what happened to these dissenters. You see, activists are not totally wrong when they say, there is no space for dissent. Just that, they have got the regime wrong.

Unfortunately for comrades, their overground workers aka journalists and think tank intellectuals, India is still a functioning democracy, ruled by established law and constitution. The same constitution, which fellow comrade Namboodiripad asked them to wreck from within, the same law books which outlaw seditious activities. Sorry comrades, till the time we are not ruled by Mao’s books, storing Gelatine sticks in India won’t be termed as a dissent. Good luck for revolution.

SC issues notice to Centre and State on Triple Talaq victim’s plea for security after acid attack on her

OpIndia Staff
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SC issues notice to Centre and State on Triple Talaq victim’s plea for security after acid attack on her

A day after Shabnam Rani, Triple Talaq victim who has been fighting for the rights of Muslim women in court was attacked by acid by bike-borne attackers, who was believed to be her own brother-in-law accompanied by one of his friends on Thursday in Bulandshahar, Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre and the State’s Additional Attorney General on Shabnam’s plea seeking security.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices AM Khanwikar and DY Chandrachud considered the plea of Shabnam Rani and agreed to hear the plea seeking protection on 17th September. She has also sought better health care.

Meanwhile, the court asked advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, counsel for Rani, to submit a copy of the petition to the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government.

As per reports, Shabnam was assaulted by her in-laws on Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, she was traveling to meet the SSP to register a complaint about the assault which she suffered the previous night during which she was attacked with acid. She was subsequently admitted to the district hospital where her situation is said to be critical.

The reports also stated that Shabnam’s husband had earlier allegedly divorced her by the means of triple talaq and was forcing her to perform nikah-halala with her brother-in-law in order to remarry her.

While polygamy allows a Muslim man to have four wives, ‘nikah halala’ deals with the process in which a Muslim woman, who wants to re-marry her husband after divorce, has to first marry another person and get a divorce from the second person after the consummation.

Innumerable petitions have been filed in the apex court challenging the prevalent practices of ‘nikah halala’ and ‘polygamy’ among Muslims saying it is the violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution. Many Muslim women are slowly mustering up the courage to raise their voices (though being subjected to various threats) against these practices, but atrocities against victims of triple talaq seize to stop.

In July, Raziya, a Triple Talaq victim, was allegedly beaten and starved by her husband and eventually died during treatment. In another incident, few years after a woman was forced to go through halala with her father-in-law was again forced to go through halala with her brother-in-law.

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