Nearly 5 crore Muslims declare support for triple talaq, object to uniform civil code

Representational Picture (AFP)

New Delhi: Amid growing uproar on the issue of triple talaq, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has claimed to have received support of nearly 5 crore men and women who have submitted a declaration supporting the contentious Muslim practice and objecting to a uniform civil code.. Maulana Mohammad Wali Rahmani, General Secretary of the AIMPLB told newspaper Mail Today that a total of 4 crore 83 lakhs 47 thousand 596 of signatures were received from across various states. He said he wanted to submit the forms in two trucks to the Law Commission. The law panel last year sought public views on the subject to revise and reform family laws, saying the motive is to address social injustice rather than plurality of laws. According to the 2011 census, the Muslim community has a population of 172-million in India. PM Narendra Modi has been making a strong pitch against triple talaq, insisting that "exploitation" of Muslim women should end and justice should be meted out to them. Supporting his stand on the issue, Yogi Adityanath on Monday said those silent on the issue were as "guilty" as the ones practising it. He said that the practice of triple talaq was similar to ‘cheer haran’ of Draupadi in Mahabharata. Yogi questioned why India doesn’t have one law on marriage/divorce when the "country is one". "What is the harm to implement Uniform Civic code in the country.” Last week, Adityanath had asked the women welfare department to oversee an exercise of collecting opinion of Muslim women on the triple talaq practice so that these could be presented before Supreme Court. The government plans to complete the exercise soon as the case is to be heard by a Constitution Bench in May. Latching onto the divisive issue, right-wing outfit Vishwa Hindu Parishad attacked the AIMPLB on triple talaq, saying the Islamic body was not ready to give equal rights to women, whom they treat as an "object". Several Muslim countries have already put an end to the practice. The Shias among Muslims do not practise triple talaq.