Marathi Women Challenge Islamic Orthodoxy

What do these names have in common:

Zakia Soman
Lubna Choudhary
Noorjehan Niaz

They are the women leading the charge against Triple Talaq and in favor of a Uniform Civil Code.  

The pleasant surprise in their revolution is the shear courage and audacity with which they present their arguments.

They are shoving gender rights down the throats of their mullahs.  Who seem befuddled by the aggression.  An aggression rarely seen in the ranks of Muslim women. 

Another common thread binds these women.  They are all Muslims from Mumbai and belong to (as their surnames and accents suggest) the konkan coast of Maharashtra. 

Sadly the best known Konkani Muslim is Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.  But this community has always held on to their Marathi identity and as late as the 1920s and 30s were begging Hindus to bring them back into the Hindu fold (that caste considerations prevented their return is a different issue). 

Konkani Marathis in general are a tribe that fueled the rise of not only the Shiv Sena but also Mumbai's underworld.  All three major Mumbai Dons (and their armies) from the 80s came from this stock. 

This community has a unique mindset that is often misunderstood by not just non-maharashtrians but even Marathis from other parts of the country.  

In a strange way they exhibit shades of the same intransigence that one associates with orthodox Muslims.  

It is no wonder than that the two communities have been a loggerheads even in contemporary India. 

The banner of revolt against gender discrimination raised by Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan must be seen in the backdrop of the konkani marathi antecedants of the two founders.

Maharashtra has been blessed with a stellar gallery of social reformers.  That a Kunbi (OBC) Maratha could rise to become an Emperor by galvanizing Hindus across castes/class was a natural outcome of the vibrant social reforms initiated by several saints since the 1200s


These Konkani Muslim women are continuing this long tradition of social reform.  The courage and brazen audacity on display can only happen with women who are willing to risk life and limb to bring a revolutionary change to their community. 

This is only the latest chapter in a tradition of reformists who have challenged orthodoxy.  No religion or doctrine has survived their onslaught. 

Muslim Law Board is merely the most recent victim.

Why China Needs India more than Pakistan

China is going to great lengths to corner India.  From investing $50 Billion in Pakistan to keeping India out of the NSG, China has adopted a single point agenda to oppose and stop India. 

Though this may seem antagonistic China cannot push India beyond a certain point.  Economically and militarily India is no push over and any war (even a limited one) will hurt Chinese economy at a time when they can ill afford it. 

But beyond India's capability China has a strategic compulsion to prevent India from being irreparably vanquished. 

Imagine the following scenario:

India loses a two front war and has to concede Kashmir to Pakistan or as an independent state. 

The green crescent i.e. Islamic rule from Arabia to Indonesia would be close to fruition.  China would then come face to face with a billion strong muslim Umma right across its West and Southern border. 

India serves as a buffer that bears the brunt of Islamofacism.  Take away this buffer and China will have to deal with a hungry Islamic horde ready to take back Xinjiang across a 1000+ mile stretch of its border.  

America would salivate at the prospect of reactivating old assets in AfPak to do to Beijing what Jihadis did to Moscow in the 80s.

Surely Beijing understands this dynamic.  Their reluctance to push India beyond a point is reflected in their continuing neutrality on the issue of Kashmir.  

No sensible power in the world wants another Islamic state to come into existence.  Much less on its own restive border. 

So folks China will jab and poke at India to defend and extend its economic and military lead but it wont reach for the right upper cut for a decisive KO.

China needs India more than it needs Pakistan.

p.s. Hope Indian strategists have factored in this imperative into their calculations.  The trick lies in not trying to befriend China into working against Pakistan but instead to have the average Pakistani to turn against China. 

 

Jai Shri Ram & Triple Talaq and why BJP Should Eschew Mandir Politics

Perhaps it is a combination of factors driving BJP's latest flirtation with the RJBM movement. Local free lancers, core constituency and old timers looking to relive the heady days of that epoch making movement.  It doesnt matter.

What matters is that given current political scenario, dipping in this political well would prove, at the very least, a damaging strategy for the BJP.  Both within UP and beyond.

BJP has played its cards perfectly on the issue of secularism.  Most importantly the triple talaq conundrum has pushed sickular libtards into a cul-de-sac which seems increasingly like a dead end.

BJP now occupies the moral high ground on the issue of gender rights and liberal values.  Even their most stringent critics on the left will be forced to support both banning of the triple talaq and the inevitable fall out into support of the UCC that is bound to follow.

Add to this fortuitous turn of events the expertly executed surgical strike by the Indian Army and you have the makings of a new BJP that would be ideologically very difficult to defeat.  Certainly on the issue of secularism.

Most importantly, triple talaq has the potential to engender deep doubts in the minds of mullahs across India.  Do they trust their women to vote on traditional vote bank lines or will an electorally significant segment of muslim women break ranks and vote for the BJP behind the anonymity of voting booths.  That question may prompt mullahs to sequester their women folks at home.

Either way BJP wins.  

Additionally BJP benefits from the halo effect of unabashedly supporting gender justice.  Non-muslim women will see BJP favorably in the years ahead if it successfully bans triple talaq and pushes for a UCC.

Congress and its many clones are now caught between a rock and a hard place.  If they go against UCC/Triple Talaq they will alienate the larger Hindu and woman vote.  If they support it they will lose a dedicated, belligerent vote bank.

By introducing RJMB into this mix, BJP dilutes this equation while accruing only minor political gains.  

Moreover, they unite the sickular votebank and hands some of the hard earned gains back to BJP's rivals.

Surely Lord Ram would support a temporary suspension of the campaign to build a grand temple in his honor.  

It will after all go a long way in saving his beloved Sanatan Dharma.

We Owe PM Modi an Apology

Dear Fellow Right Wingers,



Lets face it we dont deserve a PM like PM Modi.  Go back to the first two quarters after BJP took over in June 2016 - the first 6 months and review the anger and vitriol spewed by his 'supporters' on and off social media.



It was then that I wrote this post - http://inflextionpoint.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-pms-dilemma.html - explaining the insidious traps and barriers left in place Sonia's Congress and her evil empire. 



Clueless supporters demanded instant results.  UCC, bloody nose for Pakistan, economic liberalization, Sonia behind bars.....should have been delivered faster than it takes for Maggie noodles to be cooked and served.



As PM Modi approaches the half way mark, we all owe him an apology and a debt of gratitude. 


When some of us Bhakts began supporting him over 10 years back, none could have predicted his rise to the highest office and the items on our agenda which would be placed on his plate.


And he has delivered or close to delivering on every single one of them.


Here's a brief list:


- End corruption (high level corruption in central govt. has ended)

- Place Pakistan on path to destruction (my personal favorite)

- Economic liberalization (5+ PSUs identified for divestment)

- UCC - Debate initiated

- Abolition of Triple Talaq now on its way

- Modernize Indian military and make it self reliant

- Massive development of transportation infrastructure (Railways, Roadways, Waterways)

- 24 x 7 Power (on track to be delivered by 3rd quarter 2017)


So folks, bow down and apologize your PM.  He's a leader like on other and if he has one flaw it is us - his followers who want him to deliver on an unrealistic timeline.


Your truly


Bhakt #1



 

Surgical Strike - The Real Reason Behind Kejriwal, Nitish and Pappu's Heartburn

Dhirubhai was once asked how he dealt with contemporaries who were deeply envious of his meteoric rise.  His response was something to the effect that one must alter one's orbit.  As you graduate to higher orbits you leave your contemporaries behind and they come around to accepting your ascendance.  

PM Modi's clinically planned and executed, multi level surgical strike has placed him in an orbit of one.  

For an India which gave him an overwhelming mandate this was evident from day one.  But Kejriwal, Nitish and Pappu remained under the delusion that they were the PM's equals.  Perhaps it were the Delhi and Bihar state elections that gave credence to this misconception or it was just that their fragile egos were pumped by their respective supporters into believing the same.  

But the surge of support for PM Modi post Sept 29th has rattled these individuals to their very core.  

Even their own die hard supporters have come out publically in support of PM's multipronged strategy and its resounding success.

This trinity has rightly calculated that if allowed to go unchecked, PM Modi will transcend to an orbit where none could rival him.  Much as it happened in Gujarat, PM Modi will now come to be singularly synonymous with India.  PM Modi is now the sole representative of Bharatiya asmita. 

India is NaMo and NaMo is India.  From now onward every attack on the PM will perceived as an attack on India and her citizens.

This is the fear that has driven them into going down a suicidal path of questioning India's most venerated institution and its unprecedented success vis-a-vis Paki terror machine.

This is their last chance.  From now until 2019 and beyond, PM Modi will only go from strength to strength.  And they know it.   

We're now at a point of no return.  

PM Modi could remain in office till 2024 and beyond.