Headlines
Another Sena shocker: Forced sterilisation for Muslims
Mumbai, April 15
Barely a couple of days after
calling for an end to voting rights for Muslims, the Shiv Sena on
Wednesday sought forced sterilisation of Muslims to check what they
alleged was their burgeoning population.
Shiv Sena, known for its
disruptive politics, on Wednesday supported the recent call by All
India Hindu Mahasabha vice president Sadhvi Deva Thakur demanding forced
'nasbandi' (sterilisation) of Muslims and Christians to restrict their
numbers in the country's population.
"What she meant was family
planning...She should not have uttered the word 'nasbandi'. But family
planning and population control are one and the same thing," the Sena
said in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana on Wednesday on the
sensitive issue.
With over 170 million Muslims, India is home to the third largest Islamic population in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan.
This
is the latest attack by the Shiv Sena on the Muslim community. Two days
ago, the party kicked up a controversy by reportedly demanding
disenfranchising Indian Muslims from the country's polity.
Following
a nationwide furore, and demand for legal action, Saamana executive
editor and MP Sanjay Raut claimed he was misquoted as he had said
"Muslims would not be used for political opportunism if they are not
allowed to vote."
The Saamana on Wednesday lamented that in our
country, forced sterilisation cannot be carried out even on stray dogs
who rule the streets, courtesy support from animal rights activist
Maneka Gandhi.
Targetting All India
Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi, the Sena
said that if he is so concerned about the plight of the Muslim
community, he must first come out in support of family planning and ban
burqas (veil) for women.
"When we raise the demand for
performing 'nasbandi' -- sorry, family planning -- it is in the best
interests of the country and the Muslim community... With family
planning, they will be able to feed and educate the children and live
better lives..." the Sena said.
The Sena dismissed Samajwadi
Party leader Azam Khan's statements that Muslims are poor so they
produce more children, and then say poverty lures the Muslim youth to
terrorism. "They should be clear once and for all about what exactly are
the community's problems and their increasing numbers."
However,
the Sena acknowledged how some Muslims have voluntarily adopted family
planning for their own betterment. "It is not as if they incurred the
wrath of Allah or that he crucified them... they are leading contented
lives."
"We are wasting time engaging in a useless debate on
'nasbandi' versus 'family planning'... If nothing else, the Muslim
leaders can at least sterilise their communal ideology and save the
country," the Sena urged.