THE HINDU EDITORIAL – 23rd AUGUST 2017

a) Undoing injustice

By declaring the discriminatory practice of instant triple talaq as unconstitutional, the Supreme Court has sent out a clear message that personal law can no longer be privileged over fundamental rights. Three of the five judges on the Constitution Bench have not accepted the argument that instant talaq, or talaq-e-biddat, is essential to Islam and, therefore, deserves constitutional protection under Article 25. The biggest virtue of the two opinions constituting the majority judgment is that they do not have to undermine any religious tenet to make their point. On the contrary, as Justice Kurian Joseph says, the forbidden nature of triple talaq can be gleaned from the Koran itself. Justice Rohinton Nariman, writing the main judgment, locates the practice in the fourth degree of obedience required by Islamic tenets, namely, makruh, or that which is reprobated as unworthy. The main ground on which the practice has been struck down is a simple formulation: that “this form of talaq is manifestly arbitrary in the sense that the marital tie can be broken capriciously and whimsically by a Muslim man without any attempt at reconciliation so as to save it.” In fact, the final summation is so simple that the court did not even have to elaborate on how triple talaq violates gender equality. On the contrary, Justice Nariman says that having held the practice to be arbitrary, there is really no need to go into the element of discrimination. The court deserves commendation for undoing the gender injustice implicit in the practice so effortlessly, within constitutional parameters as well as the Islamic canon. The present case was initiated suo motu by the court, but opinion against triple talaq could not have gathered critical mass and the case against it significantly bolstered if it weren’t for a few women standing up to the community’s conservative elements and challenging it. Any other outcome would have been a great injustice to them. Even the judges in the minority have had to concede that their reasoning is based mainly on the fact that this form of talaq is a matter of personal law, and therefore entitled to constitutional protection. “It is not open to a court to accept an egalitarian approach over a practice which constitutes an integral part of religion,” writes Chief Justice J.S. Khehar in his minority opinion. Interestingly, even his view segues into a somewhat egalitarian position, restraining Muslim men from pronouncing triple talaq until Parliament enacts a law to regulate it. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, and all those who supported its regressive opinion that even an unworthy practice should not be dislodged by judicial verdict, should now accept the verdict in the interests of a modern social order. And there is no reason to contend that their faith has been unduly secularised. For, as Justice Joseph concludes, “what is bad in theology is bad in law as well.”

b) Fusion and fission

New fault lines have formed in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu. When the factions led by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam agreed on the merger, they must have hoped it would lead to a period of political stability and an unrivalled claim to power. Instead, they are now faced with a new pressure group led by T.T.V. Dhinakaran, nephew of the polarising figure that is V.K. Sasikala, who is serving a four-year sentence in the disproportionate assets case. By making the isolation of the Sasikala family a pre-condition for the merger, the Panneerselvam faction appears to have left Mr. Palaniswami on shaky ground. While Mr. Dhinakaran was not against the merger per se, he and his kin have not taken kindly to the depiction of the political reunion as a logical outcome of popular aversion to the Sasikala family. The merger and the retrieval of the election symbol of Two Leaves were seen as political necessities, but not the insistence of the Panneerselvam faction on carrying on a political campaign almost entirely on an antiSasikala platform. Though Mr. Palaniswami managed to defer a decision on expelling Sasikala until after the convening of a general council meeting, in the popular imagination the merger was made possible only by the sidelining of the Sasikala family. To retain their relevance, Mr. Dhinakaran and other members of the family were forced to coalesce into an opposing group. With the support of 19 legislators, Mr. Dhinakaran is in a position to bring down the government. However, rather than project his opposition as another split in the party, he is keen to fight the battle from within. The proposal to pitch the Speaker, P. Dhanapal, as the group’s choice of Chief Minister to replace Mr. Palaniswami is part of an attempt to reassert control over the party and the government. Even now, many ministers in the Palaniswami cabinet are Sasikala loyalists; they are held together only by their desire to avoid a snap election just one year into the term of the Assembly. Given the mood of the government at the Centre and the interests of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao might not act in a hurry on the plea by the MLAs supporting Mr. Dhinakaran and order Mr. Palaniswami to go through a floor test. Indeed, the best course in the current muddled circumstances would be to let matters take their own course and allow any oppositional group to move a motion of no confidence against the government. The Dhinakaran group would like a change at the helm, but would not like to be seen as joining hands with the Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and forcing a snap election. In such a situation, the proper forum for a change of leadership is a meeting of the AIADMK’s legislature party, not the Raj Bhavan, and not the floor of the Assembly. At least, not yet.

WORDS/ VOCABULARY

1) Privileged

Meaning: Having special rights, advantages, or immunities.

Example: In the nineteenth century only a privileged few had the vote.

Synonyms: Wealthy, rich

Antonyms: Underprivileged, Disadvantaged

2) Gleaned

Meaning: Obtain (information) from various sources, often with difficulty.

Example: The information is gleaned from press cuttings.

Synonyms: Obtain, Get

3) Reprobated

Meaning: Express or feel disapproval of.

Example: His neighbours reprobated his method of proceeding

Synonyms: Criticize, Condemn

Antonyms: Praise, Commend

4) Manifestly

Meaning: In a way that is clear or obvious to the eye or mind.

Example: We have manifestly failed to exercise good judgment.

5) Capriciously

Meaning: Changing mood or behaviour suddenly and unexpectedly.

Example: He was a cruel and capricious tyrant.

6) Whimsically

Meaning: Playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing and amusing way.

Example: A whimsical sense of humour.

Synonyms: Fanciful, Playful

7) Canon

Meaning: A general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged.

Example: The appointment violated the canons of fair play and equal opportunity.

Synonyms: Principle, Rule

8) Bolstered

Meaning: Support or strengthen

Example: The fall in interest rates is starting to bolster confidence.

Synonyms: Strengthen, Support

Antonyms: Undermine

9) Egalitarian

Meaning: A person who advocates or supports the principle of equality for all people.

Example: He was a social and political egalitarian.

10) Enacts

Meaning: Make (a bill or other proposal) law.

Example: Legislation was enacted to attract international companies.

Synonyms: Pass, Approve

Antonyms: Repeal

11) Unduly

Meaning: To an unwarranted degree; inordinately.

Example: There is no need to be unduly alarmed.

Synonyms: Excessively, Overly

Antonyms: Duly, Appropriately

12) Theology

Meaning: The study of the nature of God and religious belief.

Example: A theology degree.

13) Factions

Meaning: A small organized dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics.

Example: The left-wing faction of the party.

Synonyms: Infighting, division, dispute

Antonyms: Harmony

14) Unrivalled

Meaning: Better than everyone or everything of the same type.

Example: The paper’s coverage of foreign news is unrivalled.

Synonyms: Unequalled, Inimitable

Antonyms: Average

15) Per se

Meaning: By or in itself or themselves; intrinsically.

Example: It is not these facts per se that are important.

Synonyms: Essentially, Intrinsically

16) Depiction

Meaning: The action of depicting something, especially in a work of art.

Example: The painting’s horrific depiction of war.

Synonyms: Picture, Painting, representation

17) Aversion

Meaning: A strong dislike or disinclination.

Example: They made plain their aversion to the use of force.

Synonyms: Odium, Antipathy

Antonyms: Liking, Inclination

18) Defer

Meaning: Put off (an action or event) to a later time; postpone.

Example: They deferred the decision until February.

Synonyms: Postpone, Adjourn

19) Coalesce

Meaning: Come together to form one mass or whole.

Example: The puddles had coalesced into shallow streams.

Synonyms: Unite, Combine

20) Snap

Meaning: Break suddenly and completely, typically with a sharp cracking sound.

Example: Guitar strings kept snapping.

Synonyms: Break, Fracture

Antonyms: Hold

21) Muddled

Meaning: Bring into a disordered or confusing state.

Example: They were muddling up the cards.

Synonyms: Confuse, Jumble

Antonyms: Orderly

VOCABULARY BUILDER – EDITORIALS