Her latest gem: ‘Mughals respected women so much that purdah came in’

President of the influential Muslim organisation, Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind, Maulana Arshad Madani, has told The Indian Express that when he met Patil on June 26, she told him just the opposite.

“She praised the contribution of Mughals and said that the Mughals respected women so much that the practice of purdah became most prevalent in their times,” Madani said, adding that he was “pleased” with her clarification.

In the wake of reports over the alleged financial irregularities in the bank she founded, Patil is being sequestered by her handlers in the UPA — the official line is she will speak after June 30, the last date for nominations.

The day after her remark on the veil, Congress spokesman Satyavrat Chaturvedi had sidestepped queries on whether the party endorsed her view. All he said was: “I will not venture into the chronology of when the purdah system started. In some parts it may have been before (the Mughal rule) and in other parts after.”

Speaking to The Indian Express from Deoband, Madani said: “She explained to me that her statement on the veil had been misinterpreted and twisted. She praised the Mughals for having made India their own, and for having made a great contribution to political, economic, social and cultural systems of India. She said she had meant that the Mughals respected women so much that the practice of purdah became more prevalent in their times. She made it clear that she wasn’t referring to Mughals as unpleasant elements who had forced women to adopt the veil.”

Madani said she had told him that “she was personally pained at the campaign against her, as some people were trying to politicize the high office of the President by distorting her statement.”

“The office of the President is a non-partisan one and it is important that the person occupying it is free from prejudices of any sort, said Madani. “We decided to get a clarification first-hand. A person is entitled to clarify what they actually meant by their own words. They must be heard out and given a chance to explain any misgivings. I was pleased with what she told me this week.”