Background
Maulana Tahir Madni is the National General Secretary of Rashtriya Ulama Council. The anti-CAA protests took place in different parts of India including Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Tahir Madni was told to defuse the women-led protest. Maulana agreed to convince the protesters and his attempt bore fruitful results. Meanwhile, the authorities ended up using brute force against the women protesters. Tahir Madni was arrested for putting women and children at the forefront of their so called ‘conspiracy.’
Life and Activism
In 2008, two students from Azamgarh UP were killed in a fake encounter in Batla House, New Delhi. The police version of the encounter was concocted raising crucial questions. Soon after the encounter, the Muslim youths were systematically targeted and vilified for their Muslim identity in Azamgarh.
Maulana Tahir Madni along with other Islamic scholars protested against the witch-hunting of Muslim youth in Azamgarh and founded the Rashtriya Ulema council to establish political leadership.
He vehemently campaigned for a high-level probe into the Batla House encounter. But, he felt that the campaign was not enough and decided to work on political leadership. In an interview, he asserted, “we feel that our problems and issues can’t be solved until we have a strong political leadership…targeting innocent youth is the worst form of terrorism”
With the intent of bringing political changes, his party Rashtriya Ulema Council contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Maulana Tahir Madni garnered support for his development policy and ‘progressive’ outlook. An influential public figure got arrested in February 2020.
Circumstances of Arrest
Tahir Madni was arrested for leading the protest against the discriminatory citizenship bill.
Charges and Allegations
The Police booked them under various sections of IPC including Sedition 124(A) IPC.
Current Status
An Uttar Pradesh court granted bail to Tahir Madani in May 2020.