Since the BJP government has assumed power in the Center, sectarianism is on the rise in the country. The problems faced by the minorities, especially Muslims are increasing day by day. Efforts are being made to suppress them socially and politically on one hand, and on the other some sensitive matters of Muslim Personal Law are being targeted such as divorce, polygamy, halala and inheritance. Attempts are being made to alter and change Muslim Personal Law in the guise of sympathy with the Muslim women. The intention of the government is not good in this regard. It is just shedding crocodile tears by lamenting the oppression of Muslim women. Through hired Muslim women, it is filing cases in the courts against Islamic family laws. Today, divorce, halala and polygamy are not the real issues of Indian Muslims. Only a fraction of Muslim population practices it. Raising of these issues by the government is tantamount to ignoring the real issues of the society.

The problems faced by Muslims in India today are mostly economic and educational. If two lakh divorced Muslim women (as per the census data) are there in India today, then the number of Muslim women who are unable to marry due to lack of resources is doubtlessly in millions. Why then the government does not do anything for them. If only a fraction of Muslim waqf properties and their income have been spent to eradicate the educational and economic backwardness of Indian Muslims and their social problems, it will bring radical changes in the Muslim society. But what purpose of the government will it serve? It just wants to eliminate the Muslim family laws and scrape the Muslim Personal Law just to strengthen its vote bank in upcoming elections.

This is not the first time that any government is trying to disregard the Muslim personal law. Previous governments too have tried to interfere in the issues relating to Muslim personal law time and again. Nevertheless, the systematic way the current government is trying to pursue it through concentration of efforts and conspiracies, it has not been pursued neither in the history of independent India nor in the colonial times. Although, the British government had abolished the Islamic penal code and replaced it with the Indian Penal Code for the first time in India in 1862, but through efforts from Muslim commuity, Shariah act was passed in 1937, in which Muslim family laws such as inheritance, marriage, divorce, maintenance, endowment (awqaf), gifts (hiba) and other family laws of Islam were brought under the Muslim Personal Law and Muslim were permitted to follow their own personal law. After the independence, the people of all religions, including Muslims, have been given the right to practice their own personal laws. Despite this, the interference in Muslim Personal Law alone leaving other personal laws aside from time to time is a matter of great concern.

One more new controversy is arising these days with regard to the validity and effectiveness of Shariah courts in India. A Muslim woman named Zikra has filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India in which she has challenged the setting up of Sharia courts in the

country and has sought to declare the setting of Sharia courts to decide marriage, divorce and other cases pertaining to Muslim personal law as unconstitutional. The Uttarakhand’s Court High has upheld this and has declared the verdicts of scholars of Islam and muftis as unacceptable. However, it should be borne in mind that the establishment of Sharia courts is not only justifiable constitutionally, but its importance and utility is proven in the present era in several ways:

• Following the Muslim Personal Law is our constitutional right. Therefore it is important to get acquaint with the spirit of Islamic law to settle Muslim family issues which is possible only through Sharia courts.
• There are provisions in the Indian constitution, which call for the setup of private religious institutions to settle the religious disputes. Sharia courts can perform this duty very well.
• Today, the courts in India are inclined towards settling the disputes mutually or through arbitrators instead of giving judgments. This task will preferably be performed well by the Shariah courts.
• Around 3.3 crore cases are pending in the Indian courts today. Of all the pending cases, 60% are more than two years old, while 40% are more than five year old. In the Allahabad High Court, 15% of the appeals have been pending since 1980s, while in the MP High Court, 70,000 have mounted since 1994. Chief Justice Dipak Misra sounded the alarm on rising pendency and termed the situation as almost getting out of the hand. In this situation, the establishment of the Sharia courts will help in reducing the burden of courts as well as help them save huge money, labor and its precious time. They may also assist in delivering the justice on time, as the justice delayed is justice denied.
  There is a technical defect in the 1937 Shariah Act, which is the bone of contention in this regard. The sectarian elements attempt to misuse it from time to time. Under this act, non-Muslim judges have been allowed to interpret the Islamic law, which is logically incorrect. Therefore, instead of taking defensive positions, Muslims should think of adopting an assertive position and demand to revoke this clause; demand appointment of religious scholars to solve issues pertaining to personal laws; demand the establishment of separate Sharia cells in the courts for the hearing of issues relating to personal law and the recognition of Sharia courts.