Hadiya and what she means to the idea of a Republic.! - By Dr. Shahir Asfahan. MBBS. MD.

It’s not about Hadiya alone, it’s about every citizen's rights in a Republic. It’s about the
fundamental rights in the context of constitutional supremacy. Those who are confusing this lady's fight to choose her religion and life partner as one defending a particular religion will come to a  great shock,  if this wanton disregard towards her fundamental rights is not questioned today, by the law abiding citizens in our Country. This erosion of her rights will come to bite every citizen in the future who dares to look the government/powers-that-be in their eyes.
This is not about keeping Hadiya away from her husband, but about the power of the law to strip a citizen of his or her fundamental rights on any pretext until clearly mandated by the law.

 This precedence, if allowed to flourish will harm the cause of freedom that our forefathers so dearly fought to get it for us. In one stroke, the citizen as the fundamental unit of the republic will be turned upside down.

It has been clear from day one that this girl has consistently claimed to have embraced her
religion out of her own volition. However at every stage her voice has been suppressed and
vested interests are baying for her freedom. They are hell bent on drowning the voices of sanity  and they are allowed to hijack the due process of law. It’s like the re-enactment of Draupadi's ordeal in the epics. Is Hadiya, as an adult, major, budding doctor, 25 year old, the property of her parents? Can they so mercilessly curb her freedom? Can any law confine her to a virtual house arrest? Can her marriage be annulled based on mere allegations ? Does she has no say, in choosing her husband?

We thought these were well settled issues in the 21st century.  However it is shocking that these
questions are still alive. Have we not learnt from our epics ? Have we not learnt the answers
to these questions from our thousands year old civilisation. It’s extremely sad that we are
revisiting these questions.

Now every woman who wishes to marry against her parent’s wishes might have to go
through some or all of this ordeal in the future. Not a great progress in women’s right as well.

Not surprising that senior lawyer Dushyant Dave, stated, that these culmination of events in
this case, strike at the root of the multi-cultural society.

Today a section of society is being fed the myth that she is suffering because she deserved it. But ultimately, this loss would come back to haunt everyone of us in the long run. This precedent may be used to muzzle the voice of every critic. Those who are cheering for this turn of events need to remember, the sheep were offered a
blanket each, no one realized the wool was going to come from their own skin..!!

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