– M Rafi Ahmed
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ gave women full rights to own property, run businesses, and inherit wealth. His first wife, Khadijah (RA), was a successful businesswoman, proving that Islam encouraged women’s financial autonomy. “For men is a share of what they have earned, and for women is a share of what they have earned.” (Quran 4:32).
Unlike many other societies, where women had no control over their earnings, Prophet Muhammad ensured that women had legal and financial security as prescribed by Allah. As to the words of the Prophet, a Travelling Ticket Inspector (TTI) Rubina Akib Inamdar created a record of sorts in collecting Rs 45,705 on a single day as fine from 150 ticketless passengers on the Mumbai suburban train receiving accolades from Central Railway’s top honcho.
It may be noted that ticketless travel remains a persistent issue on Mumbai’s suburban railway network, particularly in AC local and First Class compartments. Many commuters from general compartments often sneak into these reserved coaches, especially during peak hours, making it difficult for legitimate ticket holders to find a seat. This has been a cause for concern warranting the railway authorities to conduct surprise checks on the suburban trains.
Interestingly, Rubina Akib Inamdar belongs to the Tejaswani second batch under Mumbai railway division. A post in the X page by a Central Railway recently stated, “Record-breaking single-day performance in ticket checking. Congrats to Rubina Akib Inamadar, (TTI) Travelling Ticket Inspector, Tejaswini 2 Batch, Mumbai Division. Today, she detected a total of 150 irregular/without-ticket cases, generating Rs. 45,705 in ticket checking revenue, including Rs. 16,430 from 57 without-ticket cases in First Class. A truly rockstar single-day performance.”
The most special achievement is that Rubina caught 57 people travelling without tickets in first class, collecting Rs.14,000 from these irregular passengers. Several times, the Western and Central Railways have run drives to catch ticketless passengers. As a result, the number of ticketless travellers is now decreasing. The railway authorities have recognised and appreciated her exceptional efforts in maintaining discipline and revenue integrity on Mumbai’s busy train routes.”
Rubina belongs to Tejaswani Squad 2 who makes it a point to prevent ticketless travel on Mumbai’s suburban trains by conducting frequent checks on different routes and has earned the goodwill of the legitimate ticket holders who commute on their daily chores. All the more, the Railway authorities too have commended the good work of the TTI Rubina Akib for her dedicated work in ensuring revenue to the railways.
[The author is former Indian Express and Deccan Chronicle chief]
