The Good
As a champion of gender justice, the most welcome event for me was the passing of the Triple Talaq Act which criminalised the practice of instant divorce under the Muslim personal law. It has brought Muslim women under the ambit of the Constitution by giving them equal rights and protecting them from discriminatory and dehumanizing procedures.
Another positive development was the giving up of subsidised food by MPs in the Parliament canteen after much hue and cry in the media. Subsidies must be reserved for the poor, who are truly in need of it and not for the privileged. The Supreme Court also displayed its much-needed independence in the aftermath of Justice Gogoi’s retirement by ordering a floor test after the Maharashtra elections imbroglio.
The Bad
By allowing the review of the historic decision of a five-judge bench regarding the entry of women in Sabrimala temple, the Supreme Court has taken a regressive and disappointing step.
The implementation of NRC in Assam in a haphazard and insensitive manner saw an inferno sweep through the state and caused mental turmoil to many. The youth in universities stood up in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act which was a ploy by political leaders to polarize society on communal lines. The resurgence of the policy of divide and rule is unsettling and poses a grave threat to India’s multicultural and plural ethos.
This has also distracted the masses from the most pressing matter that faces India today – its ailing economy. Rumours about fudged statistics has resulted in a lot of distrust in society. Further, the RBI’s historic doling out of a surplus of Rs 1.76 lakh crore is worrying when one observes that the Government continues to splurge on non-revenue generating activities like the building of statues and the redesigning of Lutyen’s Delhi.
The criminal justice system received a big jolt when its two pillars, the lawyers and the police, violently clashed in Tis Hazari Court, which also resulted in protests by the police. Last by not the least, the concerns of the farmers and the common man remained unaddressed, with Maharashtra itself recording over 60,000 suicides in 2019 and onion prices went up to Rs 140 per kg.
The Grey
Finally, some of the major events squarely fall in the grey zone. The revocation of Article 370 settled a much-needed, longstanding debate regarding the status of Kashmir, but the ruthless suppression of human rights in the Valley and keeping the internet suspended since the last four months is an attack on the fundamental rights of the people. It will take a long while before these scars can be forgotten.
Similarly, a decision on Ayodhya was much welcomed, but the failure of the Supreme Court to compensate the Muslims adequately for the brazen destruction of Babri Masjid leaves a lot to be desired.
(Coordinated by Shikha Sharma)
