Good response to lights-off movement

Time of India

30-04-2025

Bhatkal: The nationwide '
lights-off movement
' called by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (
AIMPLB
) against the
Waqf Amendment Act 2025
received overwhelming support in Bhatkal on Wednesday night, as Muslim-majority areas plunged into darkness at 9pm in a symbolic show of dissent.
In response to AIMPLB's call to switch off lights for 15 minutes from 9pm to 9.15pm, Bhatkal's prominent social organisation, Majlis-e-Islah wa Tanzeem, mobilised support by disseminating the appeal through more than 100 mosques across the town. The forum also issued its own appeal urging the public to turn off lights to express discontent against the law passed by the central govt.
As the clock struck 9pm, residents in homes, shops, and commercial establishments in localities such as Sultan Street, Jamia Street, Khalifa Street, Takia Street, Qazia Street, Mushma Street, Ghausia Street, Farooqi Street, Qidwai Road, Main Road, Nawayath Colony, Madina Colony, Umar Street, Usmaniya Street, Kargedde, Azad Nagar, and other Muslim-dominated areas switched off their lights, resulting in a unified 15-minute blackout. Lights were turned back on precisely at 9.15pm.
During the blackout, many residents performed ablution and offered special prayers, seeking divine intervention for the protection of the community's religious rights. Protesters denounced the Waqf Amendment Act as being in violation of both Islamic Shariah and the Indian Constitution's guarantees of religious freedom, asserting that the law is unacceptable in its current form and must be withdrawn.