Arif Mohammad Khan, the Governor of Kerala responded to the killing of tailor Kanhaiya Lal from Udaipur during a media interaction on June 29.
Khan claimed in a statement that despite the signs being obvious, the deeper ailment is still being disregarded. He emphasized the widespread radicalization taking place inside madrasas and claimed that students there are taught that the penalty for blasphemy is beheading.
He further stated that we worry when symptoms appear but fail to recognise the more serious illness. In madrasas, young children are taught that beheading is the appropriate penalty for blasphemy. It is being taught as being God’s law.
Examining what is being taught there is necessary. Kanhaiya Lal murder is disturbing, all parties come together and condemn such horrific crime.
Who is Arif Mohammad Khan?
Arif Mohammad Khan is an Indian politician and former Union Minister of India who was born on November 18, 1951 in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. He completed his schooling from Jamia Milia School, Delhi and higher education from Aligarh Muslim University and Shia College, Lucknow University.
He has handled a variety of positions, from civil aviation to the energy sector. He has always been vocal about and as well as the reformation with Muslims and is a strong critic of Islamic radicalisation and extremism.
Arif also opposed Triple Talaq in India and said that it should be punishable with 3 years in jail. He asserted that Muslim men are still allowed to be polygamous and can also give a divorce easily by paying paltry sums.
Apart from that he has been deeply involved in writing since his school days. He is the author of the best selling book of the year 2010 titled Text and Context: Quran and Contemporary Challenges.
Political Career
Khan got his start in politics as a student leader. He was the President of Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union in the year 1972-73 and also its honorary Secretary a year before. He became the MLA in Uttar Pradesh in 1977 at the age of 26.
He joined the Indian National Congress in 1980 but quit it after 6 years in 1986, due to the differences over the passage of Muslim Personal Law Board which was piloted by Rajiv Gandhi in Lok Sabha.
He opposed Rajiv Gandhi’s stand on the Shah Bano case and defended the Supreme Court’s judgment regarding the case of Parliament.
Later he joined Janta Dal and was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989. He left Janta Dal and joined Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and entered the Lok Sabha in 1998 from Bahraich constituency. In 2004, he joined Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and contested Lok Sabha election from Kaiserganj constituency.
