Since when Fatwas become part of Indian Penal Code?

At a time when the whole country is still trying to figure out on which side of the line they should be standing when it comes to the question of having madrasas and imams make judicial decisions for their community members, we have villages in Madhya Pradesh that don’t let any matters go to court and settle disputes amicably!

The question of whether the imams have the rights to pronounce verdicts and fatwa’s is not the issue at stake. The issue is how far these decisions strike at the basic Judicial system and penal codes of our country. When people like Nana Deshmukh is working towards achieving the goals of a Ram Rajya walking in the path of the great visionary Pandit Deen Dayal Uphaday we have another set of people who implement strict codes of conduct on their people almost in the lines of an invisible oppression.

The government in power seems to be completely ignorant or don’t wish to indulge into the issues of the minority communities. They have even gone to the extend of saying that a parallel judicial system run by the imams and madrassas have no consequences in our country. Is that so?

Let’s look at a few of the recent fatwa’s. We can keep aside some ridiculous fatwa’s like the Quran cannot be recorded on cell phone as it is not allowed. But some like the fatwa on Sania Mirza need to be looked at with serious concern. Because they cross the judicial lines when it infringes the freedom of an individual in India.  A recent
fatwa tells its people to stop sending children to schools that sing the Vande mataram. A recent camera sting operation showed fatwa’s being issued for cash. Surprisingly this was in the news for one day and then disappeared.

A question would certainly arise in the readers mind if we are to support the government stand or go against it. Supporting the government stand that the fatwa’s don’t affect our judicial procedures would amount to stupidity. But again do we allow the judiciary to indulge into the depth of each religion’s edicts? Can we allow the government to decide what is good for the Hindus and what is not? Siding with the imams who issue fatwa’s everyday for breakfast would also mean sending thousands of Muslims backward and denying them the freedom the people of India should ad will always enjoy.

If the UPA government feels that fatwa’s like the one on the women who was raped by her father in law is not against any penal code procedures in India, we would suggest the government to first study the constitution before beginning to govern us.

What makes our government scared of these fatwa’s and those issuing them? Is it simply votes alone? Or is it the reaction to the action they would take against these irresponsible community leaders that makes them afraid?