Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum

Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum (1985 SCR (3) 844), commonly referred to as the Shah Bano case, was a controversial maintenance lawsuit in India. Shah Bano, a 62-year-old Muslim mother of five from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, was divorced by her husband in 1978. She filed a criminal suit in the Supreme court of India, in which she won the right to alimony from her husband. However, she was subsequently denied the alimony when the Indian Parliament reversed the judgement under pressure from Islamic orthodoxy. The judgement in favour of the woman in this case evoked criticisms among Muslims some of whom cited Qur'an to show that the judgement was in conflict with Islamic law. It triggered controversy about the extent of having different civil codes for different religions, especially for Muslims in India. This case caused the Congress government, with its absolute majority, to pass the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 which diluted the judgment of the Supreme Court and, in reality, denied even utterly destitute Muslim divorcées the right to alimony from their former husbands. However, in the later judgements including Daniel Latifi case and Shamima Farooqui versus Shahid Khan case, the Supreme Court of India interpreted the act in a manner reassuring the validity of the case and consequently upheld the Shah Bano judgement and The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 was nullified. Many Muslims including All India Shia Personal Law Board supported the Supreme Court of India's order to make the right to maintenance of a divorced Muslim wife absolute.

Dastaan (TV series)

Dastaan (Urdu: داستان‎) (English: A Tale) is a Pakistani drama serial dramatized by Samira Fazal, and based on the novel Bano, by Razia Butt. It is based on the partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan, and takes place between 1947 and 1956. The drama depicts the story of Bano, a girl from a close knit Muslim family living in Ludhiana (located in undivided Punjab) in the pre-1947 era. The story follows Bano and Hassan, as they face the trials and tribulations caused by the 1947 independence.

Dastaan is the first project of its kind taken up by the Pakistani media. Director Haissam Hussain stated in an interview that production for the drama began months in advance, and that the filming itself only took a little over two months. The show was broadcast on Hum TV. The show is now airing in Middle East on channel MBC Bollywood. It is the second highest-rated Pakistani television series.

Dastaan was also aired in India on Zindagi under the title Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam from 23 March 2015 onwards. Previously, it was decided to run the show under the title Lakeerein, but the decision was later changed.

Bano (novel)

Bano is a novel by the Pakistani novelist, Razia Butt, which is considered one of her best literary works. It is set in the days before and after the independence in Ludhiana, Punjab Province and subsequently, Pakistan. The events of independence play a central role in the story. It is named for its female, protagonist, Bano.

Dramatisation

The novel has been dramatised both for films and television.

References

Barium nitrate

Barium nitrate with chemical formula Ba(NO₃)₂ is a salt composed of barium and the nitrate ion.

Barium nitrate exists as a white solid at room temperature. It is soluble in water, and like other soluble barium compounds, is toxic. It occurs naturally as the rare mineral nitrobarite. Barium nitrate's properties make it suitable for use in various military applications, including thermite grenades and incendiary ammunition.

Manufacture

Barium nitrate is manufactured by one of two processes. The first involves dissolving small chunks of barium carbonate in nitric acid, allowing any iron impurities to precipitate, then filtered, evaporated, and crystallized. The second requires combining barium chloride with a heated solution of sodium nitrate, causing barium nitrate crystals to separate from the mixture.

Reactions

At elevated temperatures, barium nitrate decomposes to barium oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and oxygen:

In an atmosphere of nitric oxide, thermal decomposition produces barium nitrite (Ba(NO2)2). Reactions with soluble metal sulfates or sulfuric acid yield barium sulfate. Many insoluble barium salts, such as the carbonate, oxalate and phosphate of the metal, are precipitated by similar double decomposition reactions. Barium nitrate is an oxidizer and reacts vigorously with common reducing agents. The solid powder, when mixed with many other metals such as aluminium or zinc in their finely divided form, or combined with alloys such as aluminium-magnesium, ignites and explodes on impact.