What happened to Shraddha Madan has created a furore. Right-wingers, as usual, are shouting “Love Jihad”. Fortunately, Aftab Poonawala has found solid support in the liberal world. Some girls were swooning over his looks. A lady admonished him, “There’ll be fights in love. My husband too is Muslim. We also fight. But my husband didn’t kill me. You shouldn’t have killed her.” This is the true meaning of “Mera Abdul Alag Hai” (My Abdul is different).
Another woke wrote, “It is terrible. But Aftab has no previous crime background. He’s a great food blogger and nice guy. Law should show leniency and give him only one or two year imprisonment. He must be saved at any cost.” Such lofty ideals. Hopefully he will take Aftab to his home and rehabilitate him with the support of his family. A blue tick Twitter handle believes, “Though his act is horrendous, we must remember Shraddha is no more. She cannot come back. But Aftab is a young man and he has his whole life ahead of him. By flashing his photographs and gory details about the crime, a section of media has exposed him to Sangh Parivar hate. Media ought to exercise more caution.”
Neutral media began on the wrong foot by inadvertently leaking the religion of Aftab. Mercifully, they corrected themselves and changed the headlines to “Man chops live-in partner into 35 pieces”. That small gesture saved “talented Chef” Aftab from becoming another victim of the “wave of Islamophobia” in India. While a section of social media was trying to ward off Islamophobia by declaring Aftab as Hindu/Parsee, Mohammed Zubair of Alt News has done the unthinkable. He has fact-checked these claims and declared, “Aftab is a Muslim”. The question is, was it necessary in these volatile times?
Broad-minded Muslim men have a lot of love in them than their Muslim wives can handle. Aftab, for example, had at least four Hindu girlfriends other than Shraddha. Many of these Muslims are victims of Islamophobia. Narrow-minded Hindu families don’t allow their girls to date Muslims. Muslim men they are forced to take a Hindu identity to find their “true love” in the form of a second, third or fourth wife. They don’t force girls to convert to Islam as has been claimed by the Hindu right wing. They are freeing Hindu girls from the clutches of Brahminical patriarchy and giving them respect, protection and equality in Islam.
Many Hindu girls have been chopped into pieces and filled into suitcases before. Most of them were “Woke liberals” who didn’t want their respective families to interfere in their personal matters. Shraddha left her father’s house even though she had earlier complained to him about getting beaten up and tortured by Aftab. But she too knew Mera Abdul (Aftab) Alag Hai. Aftab didn’t disappoint. While most “lovers” had filled their Hindu girlfriends into suitcases, Aftab was extremely considerate. He chose a cool fridge with a lot more space for his love. He kept her in the freezer for three weeks, disposing her off piece by piece. Reports from the NDTV portal suggest “Aftab used to look at Shraddha’s face in the freezer everyday before finally letting her off”. That was true love. NDTV and Bollywood have all the ammunition at their disposal to immortalise the love story of “Shraddha Aftab” like that of Jodha Akbar.
On the political front, Arvind Kejriwal might have already ordered a new sewing machine to rehabilitate Aftab. Congress will most certainly send its best legal eagles to defend the lover. Communists have always opposed the oppression of minorities, and they will continue to support Aftab. They know “Love Jihad” is a fake story created by Sangh Parivar. Yet, some people will question, “Why did he kill her?” Samajwadi Party knows the answer. Ladkon Se Galati Ho Jaati Hai (Boys can commit mistakes). Neutral media has already started discussing “psychological disturbance” and “mental instability” as the causes for his “delinquent behaviour”.
Arvind Kejriwal might have already ordered a new sewing machine to rehabilitate Aftab. Congress will most certainly send their best legal eagles to defend the lover. Communists have always opposed the oppression of minorities, and they will continue to support Aftab. Neutral media has already started discussing “psychological disturbance” and “mental instability” as the causes for his “delinquent behaviour”
Over and above all these favourable factors, our Courts too have strong convictions. The Milords know, “Every Saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” Aftab’s future looks much more secure than it used to be before his arrest. No wonder he was “sleeping like a baby” in the lock up of the Police station. Some liberals have rightly concluded, “It is impossible to believe such a calm person can commit this kind of a crime. There’s more than what meets the eye.”
Sagarika Ghose, Rajdeep Sardesai and several luminaries from the “neutral media” have condemned the spate of Islamophobic messages on social media. Barkha Dutt should soon come out with more information about Aftab. Aftab loved children and was a crazy fan of Virat Kohli. He was opposed to Diwali crackers and objectification of women. He was a true liberal who believed in equal rights for women and LGBTQ. He continued to pay Shraddha’s bills even after she was gone. Aftab was the sole breadwinner in his family. All pointing to a genuinely nice young Muslim man with a liberal outlook.
Arguably, Aftab is the safest person in India today. He has woke liberals, neutral media, Bollywood intellectuals, political parties and the judiciary behind him. “Justice for Aftab” will be their primary concern. Aftab may soon become a free man and build an ice-plant for his future endeavours to free Hindu girls from the oppressive shadows of Brahminical patriarchy.
