Will help all women in distress, says interfaith committee’s lone muslim member

The committee will hold regular meetings with district officials and collect information on registered and unregistered interfaith and inter-caste marriages. File image for representation
| Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

Irfan Ali Pirzade, the one Muslim member of Maharashtra’s interfaith committee and the national convenor of Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) Muslim Rashtriya Manch, declares, “I am a part of the committee as an Indian, not as a Muslim.”

The 13-member committee set up by the State Women and Child Development Department will collect details of couples in interfaith and inter-caste marriages, and the maternal families of the women involved if they are estranged. A Government Resolution passed on December 13 mentions, “The committee will hold regular meetings with district officials and collect information on registered and unregistered interfaith and inter-caste marriages. In case of elopement, it will act as a platform for women and their family members to avail counselling and communicate or resolve the issue. It will also monitor district-level initiatives for women involved in such marriages to assist, if necessary.”

Emphasising the need for the interfaith committee, Mr. Pirzade says, “Shraddha’s [Walkar] case was disturbing. Our committee is formed to help women so that another Shraddha does not get killed. Despite the police and so many non-governmental organisations, a case like Shraddha happened. Our committee will try to reach out to women. We will help all women in distress, irrespective of their religion.”

Mr. Pirzade tells Today News 24 that his decision to be part of the committee is only because of the work he does, on ground. Besides the RSS, he has 10 years — from 2000 to 2010 — of work with the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) under his belt. “When I used to work in the students’ wing of ABVP, I realised that we need to train people to work in different areas socially, educationally and culturally. I was a full-timer with ABVP for five years from 2005 to 2010,” he shares.

In 2013, he started his own non-governmental organisation called Gulshan Foundation, which organised skill development programmes for the women and youth.

When asked about his role in the committee and how it will function, he says that their first meeting — to be held soon — is where they will decide on these aspects.