MK Stalin-led Tamil Nadu Government has filed a rejoinder in Supreme Court saying no incident of love jihad was reported in Tamil Nadu, and the Kerala story received a poor response. But love jihad sort of things are being reported in media in the state.
Once such is the dismissal of Assistant Professor Syed Thahir Hussain from Madurai Medical College after a complaint was filed that he sexually harassed 23 female students, including a teacher. Meanwhile, Syed Thahir Hussain has accused them of doing this to take revenge because he had complained about the irregularities and against the administration.
Syed Thahir Hussain is working as an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at Madurai Medical College. Twenty-three female students, including Asians, filed a complaint against him with the college administration. They accused him of sexually harassing them. An inquiry conducted by the College’s Visakha Committee following 23 students including two teachers, one nurse and two PG students filed a written complaint with the Visakha Committee.
In their complaint, they alleged that they were sexually harassed by talking sexually, inappropriately touching and describing. The Directorate of Tamil Nadu Medical College, which considered Deputy Professor Syed Thahir Hussain guilty of sexual assault on female students, dismissed him from his post.
Talking to media persons, Madurai Medical College Dean Rathinavelu said, “Eight undergraduate students, who’re the victims of the abuse, met him on May 6, wept and shared their emotional trauma. When asked to submit their complaint in writing, nearly 42 students and 23 technicians of the operation theatre complained about the professor’’. The Dean on May 9, ordered the Chairman of the Vishaka committee V Dhanalakshmi, Vice Principal, to look into the matter. Based on the findings of the report submitted by the Vishaka committee to the Directorate of Medical Education, the suspension order was issued on May 19th. Meanwhile, it is said that the police will investigate the matter soon.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ), an Islamic fundamentalist organisation, has distributed pamphlets derogating Hindu religion in Tiruvallikeni (DMK Minister Udhayanidhi’s constituency) in Chennai in order to create “awareness” on “women’s rights guaranteed by Islam”.
It has now distributed pamphlets in the Tiruvellikeni area to spread Islam by derogating the Hindu religion. This initiative of TNTJ comes in light of the release Tamil film titled Burqa is set against the backdrop of a Muslim ritual Iddah which a widowed/divorcee Muslim woman has to observe. The TNTJ website has also given a detailed explanation about Iddah while condemning the movie for allegedly portraying Islam in a bad light.
In a pamphlet that is oxymoronically titled “Islam respects women’s rights”, Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath says, “Women’s rights are frequently discussed in this century. Many movements and governments have emerged to free women from the bonds of slavery. Many women’s organisations have sprung up to give women a voice. Women’s rights legislation is being enacted. Women were treated as commodities in the past, with their job being to serve their husbands, fulfil their desires, and bear children for them. Women are now receiving education and occupying important positions in society. However, even now, women are being denied rights in some places.”
Without naming Hindutva, the Thowheed Jamath pamphlet indirectly criticised Hinduism and claimed that various rights such as education, equitable job, property, marriage, divorce, remarriage, worship, temple entry, and others, were violated. They went on to say that women are not allowed to learn Vedas and that women are shunned by everyone during menstruation because they are impure. It said, “When the situation of women is this dire here, 1400 years ago, women in Islam were granted the rights that the world is debating today. What Islam has given to women cannot be expressed in this pamphlet. Even now, we see a section of society demanding that women should enter temples while another section says they should not. However, 1400 years ago, Islam guaranteed women’s rights, which are still protected today, and raised women’s dignity. A book is insufficient to describe the rights granted to women by Islam.”
Hindu Munnani filed a complaint with the Komaleeswaran Pettai police station, demanding action against those who prepared and distributed the pamphlet that sparked communal tension.
Last year, its members had issued death threats from open stage against Supreme Court judges in light of the Karnataka High Court verdict against the hijab.
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