Author: Vinod Kumar, USA
Publication:
Date:
The following report is quite revelationary
and says a lot about prevailing attitudes in "progressive secular" Muslim
society.
There is no doubt that Farooq Abdullah
is regarded as "secular" face of Kashmiri Muslims. He himself is married
to a British Christian. HIs son and well established politician, an aspirant
on the national scene, Omar is married to a Sikh girl. But when Farooq's
daughter marries a HIndu, she is abandoned. Neither the father nor the
son attends the marriage.
And we are told that Indian Muslims
are the progressive lot.
Similar was the case with another
"great" Muslim politician who was and is still portrayed as a "great secular"
leader, even though he was instrumental in the creation of Pakistan. Yes,
I am talking of Qaid-e-Azam Muahammad Ali Jinnah. When he was in his forties,
he married a sixteen year old daughter of his Parsi friend. But when his
daughter from this Parsi lady wanted to marry a Parsi Gentleman, this secular
Muslim disowned her. She never went to Pakistan.
It seems neither Farooq nor his
son Omar attended the marriage of Sara.
VK
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Farooq Abdullah unhappy with daughter's
wedding to Pilot's son
Author: Onkar Singh in New Delhi
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: January 15, 2004
URL: http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/jan/15jk.htm
Many expected an alliance between
the Abdullah and Pilot families to be celebrated in a grand manner. While
Dr Farooq Abdullah is the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, the
late Rajesh Pilot was a senior and much respected leader of the Congress.
But their children - Sara Abdullah
and Sachin Pilot - tied the knot on Thursday afternoon at a quiet ceremony
in Delhi, which was boycotted by the former's family.
Dr Farooq Abdullah is reportedly
in London while his son Omar Abdullah is undergoing treatment at Batra
Hospital in Delhi for suspected appendicitis.
The much-awaited wedding took place
in the presence of only close relatives and friends of the bridegroom at
20, Canning Lane, the official residence of Rama Pilot who represents Dausa
constituency, in Rajasthan, in Parliament.
It is not clear if it involved Hindu
or Muslim rituals or was just a registered marriage. The venue had been
declared out of bounds for mediapersons who had turned up to cover the
event.
For the Abdullahs, who are passing
through a difficult phase after their National Conference lost in the state
assembly elections, the wedding could not have come at a worse time.
It is likely to kick up a furore
in Jammu and Kashmir with terrorist groups expected to whip up public sentiment
against the Abdullah family on the issue of a Muslim girl marrying a Hindu
boy.
Srinagar is ripe with speculation
that Dr Abdullah has disowned his daughter. Incidentally, Omar Abdullah
is married to a Sikh.
But no member of either family came
forward to speak to mediapersons.
