Consequences
The Shah Bano case generated tremendous debate in India.The mainstream media disapproved of the decision. The opposition reacted strongly against the Congress party's policies.
The case has led to Muslim women receiving a large, one-time payment from their husbands during the period of iddat, instead of a maximum monthly payment of 500 - an upper limit which has since been removed. Cases of women getting lump sum payments for lifetime maintenance are becoming common.
Critics of the Shah Bano case point out that while divorce is within the purview of personal laws, maintenance is not, and thus it is discriminatory to exclude Muslim women from a civil law. Exclusion of non-Muslim men from a law that appears inherently beneficial to men is also pointed out by them.
The Shah Bano case once again spurred the debate on the Uniform Civil Code in India. Ironically, the Hindu Right led by parties like the Jan Sangh which had strongly opposed reform of Hindu law in the 50's, in its metamorphosis as the Bharatiya Janata Party became an advocate for secular laws across the board. However, their opposition to the reforms was based on the argument that no similar provisions would be applied for the Muslims on the claim that they weren't sufficiently advanced. The pressure exerted by orthodox Muslims caused women's organizations and secularists to cave in.
Rajiv Gandhi began his election campaign in 1989 from Ram Janma Bhumi ( birthplace of Lord Rama ) in Ayodhya. This led to revival of (Ram Janma Bhumi - Babri Masjid) dispute which was lying in cold storage for about forty years which in turn led to bringing down of the Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992 and thereby causing bloody riots all over India in which thousands of people were killed and over dozen powerful bomb blasts in Mumbai ( Bombay ) on 12 March 1993 in which hundreds of people, mainly Hindus, were killed and/or maimed.
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