When P.A. Nishad from Angadipuram in the district gave the Indian Constitution as mehr to his bride Najma Thabsheera last week, it set a new milestone in the history of Muslim marriages and in the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Mehr is an obligatory gift given by a Muslim man to his bride. Mr. Nishad, a lawyer practising at the Kerala High Court, did not think twice when Ms. Thabsheera, an LLM student at Calicut University, demanded a copy of the Constitution and the Koran as her mehr.
Family hesitant
Mr. Nishad said he had a tough time convincing his orthodox Sunni family. But perceptions changed when he stepped on to the Nikah venue carrying gilded copies of the Koran and the Constitution.
Muslim spiritual and political leader Syed Hyderali Shihab Thangal solemnised the marriage, and praised him for initiating a move that can ring in a revolution in the Muslim marriage system in Kerala. Soon congratulatory messages started pouring in. In the orthodox Muslim community in the State, the non-Islamic dowry by the bride to the groom is widely practised. The mehr given by the groom is usually in proportion to the dowry given by the bride’s family.
“Apart from sending home the message against dowry, we wanted to tell the people that the Constitution is as important as the Koran for Muslims in India. It is the Constitution that protects the Koran in our country,” said Mr. Nishad, district secretary of the Muslim Students Federation and coordinator of the Valluvanadan Samskarika Vedi.
Several dignitaries, including High Court judge N. Nagaresh, attended his wedding largely because of it being different. But Mr. Nishad gives the credit to Ms. Thabsheera. “I salute her for being bold. It was her choice. If we can inspire youngsters, it will be a great blessing from God,” he said.
