Overview
- A coalition of progressive Muslim organisations and 92 public signatories issued a joint statement on Sept. 22 opposing the All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s nationwide “Save India, Save Shariat” campaign and calling its approach ill-conceived.
- The signatories demanded codification of Muslim personal law and specific gender-just reforms covering minimum marriage age, polygamy, divorce, inheritance, custody, adoption and bans on practices such as halala and female genital mutilation.
- AIMPLB leaders countered that Article 25 protects freedom of religion for personal-law matters, said they are preparing an all-India charter within days and are continuing the campaign as a defence of religious practice.
- Both sides are moving to mobilise on the ground with planned meetings in multiple cities including Mumbai, and reformists warned the dispute could be used by the BJP and Hindutva groups to deepen political polarisation.
- The clash sits at the heart of the UCC debate by pitting Articles 25–30 claims of religious freedom against Articles 14–15 claims of equality, and it revives criticism of the AIMPLB’s 2016 triple talaq affidavit while signalling concrete effects for Muslim women’s legal rights and everyday lives.