"Why Are You Letting This Happen?" Sonia Gandhi To Rajiv In Shah Bano Case

Sonia Gandhi says she was "agitated" by what she read in newspapers and magazine articles on the Shah Bano case, a legal case concerning the rights of a Muslim divorcee, and she "argued" with and "questioned" her husband on it.Rajiv Gandhi's defence, she says, was that he was trying to deal with a complicated situation fairly and asked wouldn't he defend women's rights. The conversation is part of Sonia Gandhi's memoir, "Belonging: A Journey Of Love", which hit the stands on Tuesday.The newspapers accused Rajiv Gandhi of "sacrificing" Muslim women's interests.Shah Bano, a poor Muslim woman, had gone to court seeking maintenance for herself and her children from the husband who had remarried and thrown her out of their home.

The court ruled in her favour and ordered a small maintenance to be paid. The husband contested the judgment on grounds of Muslim Personal Law.