By IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, 03 Oct 2014: Press Council of India chief Markandey Katju has earned strong criticism for terming Muslim Personal Law as barbaric and degrading for women and advocating for Uniform Civil Code.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hindi said Katju’s statement is unjustified, improper and emotive and asked him as to how Uniform Civil Code could be just for a multi-religion and multi-culture country like India of over one billion people.
Mr. Katju, while speaking on the lack of equal access to justice for women at the Indian Women’s Press Corps here on Tuesday, had said: “The Muslim personal law is barbaric, backward and unjust…it is a feudal law. All countries in the world have one law…why shouldn’t we? I support the uniform civil code.”
In a media statement on Thursday, Mr. Nusrat Ali, Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, said that some statements of former Supreme Court judge Katju are “indeed useful, reasonable and moderate.” But it seems that “from his days in judiciary, he has held one-sided, illogical and unjustified viewpoint about Muslim Personal Law.”
“He has once again expressed this view and thus has not only hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community and millions of other fellow countrymen but also raked up an impracticable, useless and unnecessary debate,” said Ali.
The Jamaat leader further said that Mr. Katju has described the Muslim Personal Law as barbaric and backward. This is completely against facts. By making such statement, he seems to have fallen prey to the conspiracy for distorting the history of Islam. Personalities of his stature should save themselves from the conspiracy.
The Jamaat has challenged Mr. Katju to analyse just last one year’s data about crimes against women like brutalities, domestic violence, murder, rape and sexual harassment etc. and he “will surely know the truth that Muslim women are least affected and they are happily living under Muslim Personal Law.”
“Yet, if some Muslim women have faced violence and injustice it is not because of Muslim Personal Law but the weaknesses of the Muslim society. A responsible person and expert like Mr Katju should understand the difference,” said Jamaat leader.
