We are Hindu, Indira’s children declare confidently after Muslim conversion quashed
By Ida Lim
The Malay Mail Online30 January 2018
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(From left) Karan Dinish, Tevi Darsiny and their mother M. Indira Gandhi are seen here in a photo taken during Deepavali 2017. ― Picture courtesy of M. Indira GandhiMore
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 ― M. Indira Gandhi's two elder children can now proudly declare their Hindu identity, after the Federal Court yesterday nullified their conversion to Islam that was done without their Hindu mother’s consent.
Tevi Darsiny, the eldest child now aged 20, said she felt “overwhelmed” when she heard about the Federal Court ruling voiding her conversion by her Muslim convert father, Muhammad Riduan Abdullah.
“When my mom called me this morning to tell me about the decision, I started crying with her. After all these years, we finally got justice to what has been done to us.
“For the past nine years, people (friends and acquaintances) ask us what are we, as in what religion are we? And my answer would be 'I'm a Hindu', with confidence. After today, I can say it with assurance that 'I am a Hindu',” she told Malay Mail in a written response yesterday.
Karan Dinish, the second child now aged 19, said he was left “speechless” after hearing about the decision from his aunt who called him as soon as everyone was out of the courtroom.
“I will be more confident of my identity and I think I wouldn't have to be afraid of people asking me whether I'm a Muslim or an Indian,” he said.
On April 2, 2009, K. Pathmanathan, or Muhammad Riduan Abdullah as he is now known, had covertly converted his three children to Islam without their knowledge and without Indira’s consent, before going to the Shariah court just a few days later to obtain custody rights for them. The Shariah court only has jurisdiction over Muslims.
Indira had in May 2016 told Malay Mail however that both her elder children have been practising Hindus since birth, with their identity cards still carrying the names they were born with and stating their religious status as Hindu. While confirming to Malay Mail then that they had been spared from going to Islamic classes in school, she had then said it was unjust for them to spend “miserable years” with uncertainty over their official religious status.
The youngest child, Prasana Diksa, was abducted by Muhammad Riduan as an 11-month-old nine years ago and was last seen in a photo wearing what appears to be a “tudung”, or headscarf usually worn by Muslim women.
The Federal Court yesterday unanimously declared that it was unlawful to convert children to Islam without the consent of both parents.
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(From left) Tevi Darsiny, M. Indira Gandhi and Karan Dinish are seen here years ago with a photo of the youngest child Prasana Diksa when she was a toddler. ― Malay Mail picMore
The lost years, a family apart
Tevi and Karan were first thrust into the limelight as children because of the court battles over their custody and their religious status, which lasted throughout their teenage years until now.
“We try to be as discreet as we can, but we can't have all that we want, right?” Tevi asked.
For Karan, the publicity of their family's case was necessary to ensure no other Malaysians would suffer the same ordeal that they went through.
“People have to know about this issue. There shouldn't be another problem popping out similar to our family case...So it's not about losing privacy, it's about opening the eyes of Malaysians on issues like this,” he said.
As their mother Indira trudged through the courts for years just to have her children recognised as Hindus, Tevi and Karan had slowly reached and surpassed the age of 18 ― the age of majority in Malaysia where one can decide their own religion.
Tevi, who will be turning 21 in May, is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science (Decision Science) degree in Universiti Utara Malaysia. Karan, who will be 20 this October, is now studying for his A-Levels in Brickfields Asia College and hopes to pursue a law degree.
Torn apart forcibly from their youngest sibling who will be turning 10 this year, Tevi and Karan are still unhappy with Muhammad Riduan's actions.
“I have always been disappointed with my father that he would want us to go through this and that has never changed,” Tevi said.
