DC Debate: The Sangh Parivar’s fight against ‘love jihad’ is a political trick

DC Debate: Hate Story - Arundhati Dhuru Vs Shrikant Sharma

Arundhati Dhuru - Attack on love won’t fetch votes

‘Love jihad’ not only rejects women’s right to choose their partner and their right to sexual self-determination, but also makes them vulnerable by giving their community the right to ostracise or kill them

Love jihad” is the latest war cry of the Sangh Parivar and its affiliated outfits, like the Sri Ram Sene led by the infamous Pramod Muthalik, who can take credit for spearheading this hate campaign in coastal Karnataka and parts of Kerala. It is the latest tool formally added to the armoury of the Bharatiya Janata Party and is wielded by none other than its star campaigner for Uttar Pradesh byelections, member of Parliament Yogi Adityanath.

By linking the word “jihad” with the natural and beautiful feeling of love, the Sangh Parivar is further polarising the two communities by spreading falsehood and hatred. The assumption is that all interfaith marriages where the groom is a Muslim are solemnised with the single purpose of religious conversion and to increase the Muslim population in the country.

Communal violence is, thus, instigated on the pretext of controlling the “izzat” (honour) and virtue of women. “Love jihad” not only rejects women’s right to choose their partner and their right to sexual self-determination, but also makes them vulnerable by giving their community the right to ostracise or kill them by shaming the girl and her family. Communal politics is played over women’s bodies since they are regarded as the repository of culture, values and honour. We have seen this happening again and again as in Kandhamal and Muzaffarnagar.

Data accessed in western Uttar Pradesh by a TV channel blows the lid off this baseless propaganda. It was found that in most rape cases this year women were assaulted by men from their own community. Out of 334 rape cases in nine districts of Uttar Pradesh, there were 25 cases where Muslim men were accused and Hindu girls were victims; in 23 cases Hindu men were accused and Muslim women were the victims; in 96 cases Muslim men were accused and Muslim women were the victims; and in 109 cases Hindu men were accused and Hindu women were the victims.

What’s most shocking is that BJP MP Hema Malini from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, who conveniently used religious conversion to solemnise her marriage, has chosen to remain silent on this issue. The film industry, which she is a part of, affirms the triumph of love over every obstacle every Friday. And yet, when her party, gives a communal twist to control women’s sexuality and polarise the society on communal lines for electoral gains, she doesn’t react.

But will this gimmick actually reap electoral gains for BJP? In a hurry to conquer Uttar Pradesh, the BJP seems to have forgotten that it was voted to power largely on the development plank. Mr Modi then appeared to represent the aspirations of the lower and the middle class and of the educated youth.
This trick of “love jihad” is not likely to appeal to the BJP votebank which is young and progressive and is looking for growth and higher GDP, not riots.

Arundhati Dhuru is a social activist and national convenor of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)

Shrikant Sharma - It’s a fight against forced conversions

There’s a need for a strong law to prevent forceful conversions in the garb of love. All the political parties should come together to end this so that young girls can be saved from being cheated, tortured and harassed.

To begin with, the Bharatiya Janata Party has never used the term “love jihad”; it is the media’s creation.

Having said that, there has been major concern about increasing incidents of religious conversions of young girls by way of allurement and marriage by boys of a particularly community. Recent case of the national level shooter Tara Sahdev is merely a tip of the iceberg. The issue of forceful religious conversions under the garb of love has gained public attention in the country, particularly in states like Kerala and Uttar Pradesh. In a landmark observation in December 2009, the Kerala high court observed that there were indications of forceful religious conversions in the state.

The court said that from police reports it was clear that there was a “concerted” effort to convert girls of a particular religion to another with the “blessings of some outfits”. Observing that there cannot be any compulsive, deceptive conversion under the pretext of love, the court said that this should be of concern to people at large and government is duty-bound to protect the fundamental rights of citizens. The court asked the state legislature to consider enactment of law to prohibit compulsive conversions.

It said that any use of force for propagation of religion was illegal and could cause law and order problems. The high court said that in four years, 3,000-4,000 religious conversions had taken place after love affairs. Therefore, one can clearly state that the fight against conversions in the name of “love” is not a political trick.

While there is no such official data compiled by the government of Uttar Pradesh, reports suggest that in recent years there has been a spurt in the cases of forceful religious conversions under the garb of love. The situation is becoming alarming with each passing day. Law and order is a state subject, but there have been no concerted effort on the part of the government of Uttar Pradesh.

Against this backdrop, serious question arise. Is there larger network at work behind these incidents? State police as well as Central law-enforcement agencies need to look into the matter and find out the main conspirators. Also, there is a need to enact a strong law to prevent forceful religious conversion that take place in the garb of love. All the political parties should come together to end this tendency so that young girls can be saved from being cheated, tortured and harassed. This is the only way one can ensure the right to freedom of religion enshrined in the Constitution of India.

However, the pseudo-intellectuals and pseudo-secularists are trying to divert attention from the issue of forced religious conversion. Baseless allegations are being made by this particular prejudiced section that is unfamiliar with the ideology and functions of the Sangh Parivar.

Shrikant Sharma is a BJP secretary