Karnataka: Group protests Hindu girl-Muslim boy marriage, calls it 'love jihad'

Mandya: A group of people claiming to be members of pro-Hindu outfits staged a protest here, opposing a Hindu family's decision to get their daughter married to a Muslim man, calling it an act of "love jihad".

The protesters shouted slogans of 'love jihad' outside the girl's house, while alleging that religious conversion was happening in the name of love and marriage.

The duo, both MBA graduates and whose fathers were childhood friends, have been in love with each other for the last 12 years and are scheduled to get married soon in Mysuru with consent of both their families, according to members of both families.

Alleging that "love jihad" cases are on rise, one of the protesters demanded to know why the girl was being trained on Islamic practices and Quran if it was a true love marriage.

The protesters left the place after police intervened.

Rejecting the protesters' charges, the girl said, "Even if I get married to a Hindu guy, I have to practise traditions of his family. I'm in love with him and I'm getting happily

married with the consent of our parents."

Her father Dr Narendra Babu, a paediatrician, said his daughter's happiness was "more" important to him and religion does not matter at all.

"We have never given importance to religion or caste. We did not know about it. They were in love for last 12 years.

First even I thought it would be difficult as the guy is a Muslim, but later I learnt he is the son of my childhood friend. They are good people," he said.

The boy's father Mukhtar Ahmed said there are no differences between the families on the issue of religion and the family has happily consented to the marriage.

"The girl and boy both are not uneducated, they are MBA graduates. The girl has been abroad also. There is nothing called love jihad. They both were in love and now they are getting married with our consent and blessings," he said.