The Supreme Court was on Thursday (May 11) giving a hearing to the crucial case of triple talaq. A bench comprising five judges from diverse religious background was hearing what is considered one of the most pertinent questions in the modern-day India: whether triple talaq is fundamental to Islam?
The matter came to focus in October last year after the Narendra Modi government officially questioned the tradition of polygamy and triple talaq and approached the apex court to do away with it. The matter has snowballed since then with the custodians of the religious practice trying all they can to defend it and their importance.
Whether triple talaq will stay or not will be settled through intense debates. But one cannot help but ask why this question was not raised in the last several decades? PM Modi and his saffron BJP are often slammed for not taking enough care for the minorities and forcing a majoritarian rule in the country.
Why the leftists and liberals have not spoken about triple talaq all these years?
The left liberals (a deadly combo though) who often accuse Modi and his brigade of fuelling communal sentiments across the country and allow their senses to be judged by two incidents in history: the demolition of the Babri masjid in 1992 and the riots in Gujarat in 2002, did never give it a thought why triple talaq is not liberal, democratic and violates human rights?
Yes, we can still say that Modi has made the move to divide the anti-BJP votes and ruin the Opposition's chance to topple him but if that helps the cause of a helpless lot, what's wrong in that?
Left didn't meddle with Muslim traditions because it had the vote-bank at stake
The Left has been exposed the most by this episode. During its 34-year-rule in Bengal, a state which has a big Muslim population, the socio-economic conditions of the community did not improve much even if it remained a solid vote-bank. Like the Congress, the Left projected itself as the protector of minorities only to benefit itself with their votes. Given the Left's high intellectual calibre, didn't it ever appear to it that triple talaq is not something acceptable and is against the basic principles of democracy?
Today, when the right-wing regime has taken up the work which the so-called 'secular' minds should have done long ago, the left has found itself nowhere. In fact, seeing its regional enemy Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress supporting the practice of triple talaq, the CPI(M) voiced in favour of abolishing it, citing how many Muslim countries have done the same.
However, the Left also made an effort so that its 'no' to triple talaq is not equated with the BJP's 'no' and said that the saffron party's quest for the uniform civil code will be counterproductive for Muslim women. According to a statement issued by the CPI(M)'s Politburo last November: "Uniformity doesn't guarantee equality".
Caught between two enemies, Left says a 'different no' from BJP
The Left's quest for making a space between the two enemies has only made a fool of itself. While its theoreticians were busy dreaming about a liberated society, the practical needs of vote-bank politics saw the Left playing into the hands of the conservative Muslim minds. Any true revolution by the 'revolutionaries' would have spelt disaster for it in elections. So the liberals never wanted to get out of the compromise formula.
Modi has a lot to win when it comes to Muslims, little to lose
Modi's advantage is that he belongs to a camp which doesn't have an in-depth 'electoral' relation with the Muslims unlike all other major parties that indulge in minority appeasement in the name of secularism. Modi and BJP have nothing to lose from the Muslim voters but much to win. And if their times eventually see triple talaq being thrown into the dustbin of history, it will not only redefine their image in the eyes of the Muslim women, but also trash the liberals.
