Most of us are aware of celebrity cases where Muslim men marry Hindu girls, who because of the marriage automatically embrace Islam or at least their children are brought up as Muslim. Even when Mughal ruler, Akbar entered into matrimonial alliance with the Rajputs, it was a unlinear arrangement. In other words, Rajput princesses were given in marriage to Mughal rulers but it was not the other way round. Mughal females didn't get married into Hindu Rajput families.
In more recent times, film actors such as Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Imran Khan and Saif Ali Khan all have Hindu wives or girl friends. Even a Muslim chief minister, Omar Abdullah married a Hindu/Sikh but when Omar's sister married a Hindu, ruckus was raised.
For a Hindu man to marry a Muslim female isn't easy. In fact it is extremely difficult. Here is a case of a Hindu boy who married a Muslim girl in Jammu and has had to face extreme difficulties thereafter. So much so that Judges of the Bombay High Court have had to intervene.
A division bench of the Bombay high court recently went out of its way to settle an unexpected conflict between a newly married Hindu-Muslim couple from Jammu.
When Daljeet Chand from Jammu married his childhood sweetheart Waziran and got married in Bombay, he had braced himself for stiff opposition from the bride's conservative and influential family. What he had not bargained for was that Waziran would threaten to walk out on him within barely a month of their marriage.
As expected by Daljeet, the girl's family had lodged a case of kidnapping with the Chenani police in Udhampur district of Jammu on the grounds that the girl was a minor. The newly married groom, who is a corporal with the Indian Air Force and his wife, who changed her name to Prathiba after converting to Hinduism, had approached the Bombay high court seeking protection from the alleged bogus case.
During the two instances when the matter came up for hearing before the division bench presided by Justice V M Khanwilkar, the girl was determined to stay with the boy and was not interested in going back to her parents.
However, on October 1, when the matter came up for a final hearing before the division bench of Justice Khanwilkar and Justice P D Kode, the girl did a U-turn and expressed her strong desire to go back to her parents. She informed the court that she would only consider staying with her husband if he converted to Islam.
"Everybody including me, her husband and the court were taken aback by the sudden change in her stance. Accepting what the girl wanted, the court paved the way for her to go back to her parents and also cleared the hurdles for the Jammu police to prosecute her husband on the grounds that he had kidnapped a minor," said their advocate Naveen Chomal.
Advocate Chomal said the boy was heartbroken and deeply disappointed by the sudden turn of events.
"Both me and the boy urged the girl to reconsider her decision," said advocate Chomal.
The justices then called the petitioners to their chamber, along with the girl's father, to further discuss the matter. Waziran alias Prathiba stuck to her stand that she will stay with Daljeet only if he converted to Islam. This happened in the afternoon.
Justice Khanwilkar again called Prathiba for counselling in the evening even though the court had pronounced its order. Justice Khanwilkar and Justice Kode tried to broker an amicable settlement between the newly married couple. When the two Justices talked to Pratibha and tried to make her change her mind, she broke down and expressed her willingness to stay with her husband.
Prathiba then told her father that she didn't want to go back to Jammu. Having saved the couple's marriage by this unprecedented intervention, the court then proceeded to deal with the issue of the girl's age. Her father had produced a school leaving certificate which declared that she was 17 years old, while the birth certificate issued by the Chenani police claimed that she was 19. The court has now directed the air force hospital to ascertain her correct age.
Meanwhile, a new problem has cropped up in connection with this issue. The Jammu and Kashmir police personnel, who have been stationed in Bombay for nearly a month, have expressed their inability to sustain themselves in the city. The court has directed the Bombay police commissioner to make suitable arrangements for the JK police team and the girl's family members till the next day of the hearing.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Girl Stands Up Against Muslim Fundamentalism In Kerala
Rayana R Khazi, from a small town in Kasargod district in north Kerala, is unlike any other 22-year-old girl. Unlike other girls in her village, she traveled to Chennai to pursue her dream of becoming an aeronautical engineer. She is now preparing for the civil services examination and wants to be an Indian Administrative Services officer.
But she confronts death threats from fundamentalists in her community and been forced to stay home. The reason: Rayana refuses to cover her head and wear a burqa. But these threats and harassment have not daunted her fighting spirit. She tells that her fight is not for her freedom alone, but for the freedom of her younger sisters and other young girls who have lost it. Listen to the story of this courageous fighter:
Childhood
My mother came from a very conservative family where girls were not allowed to study. She was not even permitted to talk loudly. Even now, the situation is the same in my mother's family. My father, a businessman, has not studied much; my mother had studied only up to the 4th standard. At the age of 14, she was married off. I was born when she was 15 years old.
My mother started studying after she had children. Now, she is studying law! My mother would not have studied if my father was not like what he is. When people in the neighbourhood spoke ill of my mother because she went to study, I used to ask my father, 'How could you remain so indifferent to their rude comments?' His answer was just a smile!
My mother is my role model. If I have respect for any woman in this world, it comes from my mother. She hails from a family that does not grant any freedom to girls, but she used to tell me all the time that I should be able to stand on my own and be independent.
My parents have five daughters. I have seen my neighbours telling their daughters not to talk loudly as they are girls. But it was never like that in my family.
If my parents were not like this, I would not have been able to think independently and live courageously. I am proud of my parents. My parents were sad about not receiving an education. They did not want that to happen to their daughters. Mother used to tell me, 'When I look back, I have no colourful memories, but I do not want that to happen to my children'.
After I received my education, I could see that other girls were made subservient by either their parents or relatives or other people. When I look around, I also see that all girls and women are tied to rigid norms by either their parents or husbands or relatives or by the community.
I don't believe in purva janam (earlier life), but I feel that I might have done something good in my past life because I got such good parents, who have given me all the freedom in the world. Do you think I will misuse the freedom given to me by such parents and bring unhappiness to them?
My parents are very, very religious. Sometimes I feel they are overly religious, but they have never imposed anything on us. My father used to tell me that bhakti (faith) should come from within and if we did something because of pressure, it is not bhakti. That was how I was brought up.
But she confronts death threats from fundamentalists in her community and been forced to stay home. The reason: Rayana refuses to cover her head and wear a burqa. But these threats and harassment have not daunted her fighting spirit. She tells that her fight is not for her freedom alone, but for the freedom of her younger sisters and other young girls who have lost it. Listen to the story of this courageous fighter:
Childhood
My mother came from a very conservative family where girls were not allowed to study. She was not even permitted to talk loudly. Even now, the situation is the same in my mother's family. My father, a businessman, has not studied much; my mother had studied only up to the 4th standard. At the age of 14, she was married off. I was born when she was 15 years old.
My mother started studying after she had children. Now, she is studying law! My mother would not have studied if my father was not like what he is. When people in the neighbourhood spoke ill of my mother because she went to study, I used to ask my father, 'How could you remain so indifferent to their rude comments?' His answer was just a smile!
My mother is my role model. If I have respect for any woman in this world, it comes from my mother. She hails from a family that does not grant any freedom to girls, but she used to tell me all the time that I should be able to stand on my own and be independent.
My parents have five daughters. I have seen my neighbours telling their daughters not to talk loudly as they are girls. But it was never like that in my family.
If my parents were not like this, I would not have been able to think independently and live courageously. I am proud of my parents. My parents were sad about not receiving an education. They did not want that to happen to their daughters. Mother used to tell me, 'When I look back, I have no colourful memories, but I do not want that to happen to my children'.
After I received my education, I could see that other girls were made subservient by either their parents or relatives or other people. When I look around, I also see that all girls and women are tied to rigid norms by either their parents or husbands or relatives or by the community.
I don't believe in purva janam (earlier life), but I feel that I might have done something good in my past life because I got such good parents, who have given me all the freedom in the world. Do you think I will misuse the freedom given to me by such parents and bring unhappiness to them?
My parents are very, very religious. Sometimes I feel they are overly religious, but they have never imposed anything on us. My father used to tell me that bhakti (faith) should come from within and if we did something because of pressure, it is not bhakti. That was how I was brought up.
Shoes Carrying Images of Hindu Deities Withdrawn In United States
Designer shoes carrying pictures of Hindu deities were withdrawn from sales in the United States after an outcry by the Indian community.
The American company, which had launched the shoes named after guitar legend late Jimi Hendrix, apologised to the Hindu community and immediately withdrew from the market its special designer shoes.
"We apologise for the unintentional offence and have decided to immediately discontinue the sales of the Jimi Hendrix/Axis shoes," said Jessica, a spokeswoman for the company. The shoes carried images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
The Converse shoe company launched its new range of shoes to commemorate the memory of Rockstar Jimi Hendrix by introducing shoes, which carried the cover of his record breaking album 1967 'Axis: Bold as Love.'
A Houston-based woman Beth Kulkarni raised the issue with the shoe company last week and the company sent its apologies to her via email. The company responded, saying it was an unintentional mistake on their part.
"As a Hindu, I am very much offended by the use of pictures of Hindu deities on Converse shoes. Hindus in general find this very offencive. To avoid further hurting the sentiments of Hindus world-wide, I request that these shoes be removed from the market effective immediately," Kulkarni wrote in three emails to the Converse shoe company.
"Converse designed the Converse Chuck Taylor Jimi Hendrix/Axis shoe to demonstrate our support of music culture and to celebrate the contributions of the global music icon, Jimi Hendrix," Jessica said.
"With approval of the Hendrix estate, we applied artwork taken directly from the 1967 "Axis: Bold as Love" album cover. The cover art included images of Hindu deities.
"Our ambitions were to honour the music of Jimi Hendrix. It was not our intent to offend Hindu culture by having Hindu deities on footwear," Jessica wrote.
Houston-based Vijay Pallod said when he called the company, he was informed that the company has withdrawn all such shoes from the market.
"When I heard about these shoes, my immediate concern was to express my own feelings and request for action and also indicate that many other Hindus also would feel as I did. I am sure other Hindus did likewise," Kulkarni said.
The American company, which had launched the shoes named after guitar legend late Jimi Hendrix, apologised to the Hindu community and immediately withdrew from the market its special designer shoes.
"We apologise for the unintentional offence and have decided to immediately discontinue the sales of the Jimi Hendrix/Axis shoes," said Jessica, a spokeswoman for the company. The shoes carried images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
The Converse shoe company launched its new range of shoes to commemorate the memory of Rockstar Jimi Hendrix by introducing shoes, which carried the cover of his record breaking album 1967 'Axis: Bold as Love.'
A Houston-based woman Beth Kulkarni raised the issue with the shoe company last week and the company sent its apologies to her via email. The company responded, saying it was an unintentional mistake on their part.
"As a Hindu, I am very much offended by the use of pictures of Hindu deities on Converse shoes. Hindus in general find this very offencive. To avoid further hurting the sentiments of Hindus world-wide, I request that these shoes be removed from the market effective immediately," Kulkarni wrote in three emails to the Converse shoe company.
"Converse designed the Converse Chuck Taylor Jimi Hendrix/Axis shoe to demonstrate our support of music culture and to celebrate the contributions of the global music icon, Jimi Hendrix," Jessica said.
"With approval of the Hendrix estate, we applied artwork taken directly from the 1967 "Axis: Bold as Love" album cover. The cover art included images of Hindu deities.
"Our ambitions were to honour the music of Jimi Hendrix. It was not our intent to offend Hindu culture by having Hindu deities on footwear," Jessica wrote.
Houston-based Vijay Pallod said when he called the company, he was informed that the company has withdrawn all such shoes from the market.
"When I heard about these shoes, my immediate concern was to express my own feelings and request for action and also indicate that many other Hindus also would feel as I did. I am sure other Hindus did likewise," Kulkarni said.
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