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arun (abc)     13 August 2010

Rights given to Mahila Takrar Niwaran Kendra

I am having marriage issues.  I am getting frustrated due to continueous calls and visits by Mahila Takrar Niwaran kendra people.  They have given me written notice (handed over by police constables) to attend their office on a particular date. I know I will not be able to visit their office.  Please help me in following things:

1. What would be the consequences if I do not visit their office?

2. How can I get rid of them (Mahila Takrar Niwaran Kendra people?

3. Will any future family court matter be made any difference by current matter with Mahila Takrar Niwaran Kendra?

4. What are the rights given to Mahila Takrar Niwaran Kendra?


5. Can I take any Legal Action against this Kendra?


Please reply as soon as possible.



Learning

 6 Replies


(Guest)

Well a good question you asked.


This is what is the iilegal activity of Mahila Takrar Nivaran Kendra (Women’s Conflict Resolution Cell),


Tamima Iqbal,
a practicing lawyer and social worker, is lovingly called ‘Apa’ or elder sister, in the locality. She also runs the Mahila Takrar Nivaran Kendra (Women’s Conflict Resolution Cell), just across the road from the local Police Station. In it, Apa holds her own court twice a week to primarily hear cases of triple-talaq.4 However, it is not just women who bring their grievances in front of Apa, but also men – complaining of harassment by the local musclemen, neighbours – with their disputes over the use of common areas, and even local political party representatives and shop owners. No fees are charged, and officially the court has no legal or police backing. After all parties have been heard, Apa delivers judgement, which is noted on her parchi (letterhead) by her trusted office aide. A woman who has just received her judgement clasps onto the parchi tightly – it says “the husband will pay Rs. 5000 to the wife and rent a flat for the family”. No signatures or stamps are necessary.


As observation what Tamima Iqbal does here is that she is running a parallel infra-power with porotection from probably local Shiv Sena and or D - C company musclemen as her 'court' is based in a chaal community which is not in easy access to State law enforcement.


In other words, why is it that infra-power can compete so readily with traditional authority of the State? The answer is evidenced in that fact that the frequent instances of long drawn - out tenancy battles show legal proceedings to be arduous and impotent in contrast to the goonda who “delivers as promised and paid for”. The nearby Family Court (Bandra) is also largely nonfunctional, straining under approximately 8,000 pending cases in 2001, with an average of 25 new petitions filed daily. The only way around the pending cases is to pay a tout, who charges substantial fees for a speedy and favourable judgement is what comes as stark observation to such infra-power.


To the above remarks I now recollect why goodboy.50 (a LCI member) some weeks back was constantly putting guns holding womens pictures on this legal website which makes sense as you give gun power to the subject of the State they start holding their own infra-power courts much to disdain of aam adami for whatever instant relief if it is right or wrong in the eyes of Law who cares in Asia's largest chaawl community - Dharavi, Mumbai ?.


So, brother, I will say you can complain to the local authorities and let local authorities take matter in their hand instea dof fighting a lone battle to such khap panchayat power within power !!!!


(Guest)

On academic discussion point of view I would say that Ms. Kiran Bedi's TV program on resolving live conflicts in marrital relations was also a ambitious infra-power project which many of the aam adamai could not rleate to due ot being summersed in his / her own millions of day-to-day struggling problems. Some of the readers may disagree to above but let us see the effects of infra-power and how it is weilded effectivley in Urban India un-noticed and or encouraged by the State herself !


In the context of Mumbai, a particular notion prevalent at street-level provides good insight into the systems of infra-power: Powertoni is a Mumbai-street slang term abbreviating Power-of-Attorney to a colloquial understanding of ‘the wherewithal to get things done’; an ability to bend or break the rules (laws) as one sees fit. Shiv Sena musclemen often use the term to describe the free hand they are given to carry out their duty – they are working for Bal Thackeray (the Shiv Sena superimo), and so have powertoni from him. Thus, powertoni signifies a power that does not originate in oneself, but a power that one holds usually by virtue of violence, on somebody else’s behalf. Who the ‘someone else’ is, is at times unclear:


Illustration: David, the handyman in the area claims his powertoni from his past acts of violence. “Shuru mein mene saat supari khaya hein” he tells me, which literally translates to ‘in the beginning, I ate seven beetle-nuts’. That is, what gave David his initial powertoni were the seven murders he was paid to commit. Now no one even bothers to find out whom he killed or at whose behest (or whether he actually killed anyone at all); everyone simply knows he has powertoni. This goes back to the definitional core of infra-power – it is non-obvious, non-formal, and ephemeral: invisible to the casual passer-by. Individuals, like the local hoodlum, or a respected gang member might possess powertoni, as might groups, like gangs. Being in possession of infra-power, that is, signifies an agency outside of the formal channels, a sovereignty beyond the state, a know-how of the city not only to get things done, but importantly also to provide security in times of need. Infra-power can mean access to the benign – getting front seats at a local cricket match, or the material signs of “the good life: cellular phones…air-conditioning, visits to [the local] red-light area”, as well as the more critical aspects of urban livelihood – protection from violence and harm, a secured space to live, or access to employment.


It is important to re-state that even though infra-power refers particularly to non-state and extralegal channels of agency, the potency of infra-power is also tapped into by State (or ‘legitimate’) actors such as policemen (as say illustration mentioned above), labour leaders (like that of Chandavarkar 1994) and politicians (like that of Shiv Sena's 'plebeian' political culture as undermining democratic rule). In sum, infra-power not only competes with the authority (monopoly) of the State, but it can also collude or even have a corrosive effect on it.

Source: Paper presented at the 9th Annual Global Development Network Conference, ‘Security for Development: Confronting Threats to Survival and Safety’ in Brisbane, Australia; January 29 – 31, 2008


(Guest)

I agree to right point by point advise given by Mr Prabhkar, mine was more on academic point of view of Tmima Iqbal's illegal activities

sanower parwez   31 January 2016

hello sir i am female from mumbai..i am married..last two years but my husband  is not living with me..he dont want to settle with me..he is not a good character also,but his family mother and sisters all families loves me and settled with me.he also wants money with my family in cash and cheques.

me and my family facing a big problems...

i launched an FIR near police station ....police told me that go to" mahila nivaran kendra"..they solved my problems ..

then i want to know ..what should  i do...help me sir/madam

sanower parwez   31 January 2016

my email id is hfazal08@gmail.com

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