Skip to main content

Patriarchal, misogynist, love jihad emulates Golwalkar's idea of 'pure Hindu race'

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*
Love jihad is an insidious, patriarchal, misogynist and anti-Muslim political project of Hindutva forces seeking to undermine liberal, secular and constitutional democratic society in India. The freedom to love and marry in India is part of the right to life and liberty guaranteed by the Indian constitution. It is further fortified by the Special Marriage Act (1954), which upholds the secular character of individual right to love and marry outside one’s own religion and caste.
The secular, democratic and constitutional rights are antithetical to religious lunatics. It is a threat to their well-established hierarchical authority over people. It is opposed to their unnatural and unscientific approach to life, love, marriage and society. So, the Hindutva forces and their right-wing religious brethren among Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and casteist moral police find themselves in same boat opposing youthful spirit of Indians to love and marry outside their medieval social, religious and cultural order. These forces are the soul of honour killings. 
India’s latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report has revealed that honour killings are growing rapidly due to these religious and caste lunatics. The state and governments are supposed to be secular and protect the constitutional rights of Indian citizens. 
But in reality, the Hindutva-led governments are pandering to the beastly instincts of these right wing religious, cultural, social and political groups. The BJP-ruled states are planning to bring legislation to make love jihad illegal. The BJP and its debauched Hindutva family considers ‘love jihad’ as a trap of Muslim men to marry Hindu women and convert them into Islam, which will change Indian demography.
Such Hindutva bogey of Islamophobic propaganda is not only statistically false but also dangerous for civil liberties of all Indians irrespective of their religious and caste backgrounds. The objective of such ideological propaganda is to malign Muslim communities and ensure caste based hierarchical and hegemonic Hindu social, political and religious order, which is concomitant with other religious right-wing forces. The law against ‘love jihad’ is primarily against freedom of youth. It is fundamentally against progressive social and political transformation towards an egalitarian society in India.
Love jihad derives its ideological inspiration from the writings of MS Golwalkar and his ideas outlined in his book; “We, or our nationhood redefined”. Golwalkar has argued for purity of Hindu race. The Hindutva forces like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bajrang Dal, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Akhil Bharati Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and BJP are following the footprints of Golwalkar and his reactionary ideals.
The Brahmanical Hindu purity project of Hindutva derives its intellectual strength from works of UN Mukherji, particularly his book “Hindus: A Dying Race” was an inspiration for the Hindu Mahasabha. The campaign against love jihad by Hindutva forces today resembles the assertive mass mobilization of Hindus by the Arya Samaj and other Hindu revivalist organisations during 1920s.
The purification movement led by several Hindu organisations during that period echoes today. Love jihad is an extension of purity of Hindu race based on Brahmanical and patriarchal caste order, where women and men are subservient to its social, cultural, religious and political hegemony.
Hindutva protagonists have reportedly watched porn in state assemblies, have been accused of raping women, maiming and lynching fellow Muslim citizens in the name of cultural and religious nationalism but preach about protecting women from love jihad. There is a striking similarity between Muslim and Hindu fundamentalists when it comes to the idea of love and marriage. 
Hindutva forces and their brethren among Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and casteist moral police are the soul of honour killings
Their method of command and control of individual freedom follows similar ideological pattern. The goal of these religious groups is to oppose equality and liberty of individuals in the matters of their everyday lives. The spectre of love hunts the religious and right-wing groups because love is a great equalizer in the society.
The narrow silo of religion and capitalism destroys all material and spiritual foundations of love and life. Both capitalism and feudal religious forces institutionalise love for reproduction. In capitalism, love depends on caste, class and racial compatibilities to preserve their inheritance with the help of marriage for reproduction, accumulation, dominance, and preservation.
Golwalkar
The religious forces promote love as an idea of purity and honour confined within women in particular and men in general. These forces tend to locate purity and honour in food habits, dress, body and sexuality. The domestication of love and its institutionalisation is central to both capitalism and feudal religious forces. It destroys human beings organic love and relationship with fellow human beings, nature and animals.
Love jihad need to be a social, cultural, religious and political project of all progressive, liberal and democratic forces in the society. Interfaith, interreligious, inter racial, inter-caste and community marriages are central to defeat the reactionary religious order, which reinforces and sustains all forms of inequalities.
Therefore, struggle for equality is a struggle to defend the idea of love jihad. Love is the only way to overcome different caste, class and gender barriers. Love can only create shared space of peace and collective security. Love can only defeat the capitalist project of commodification of human lives and liberties. Love can only defeat capitalist pandemic of loneliness and help human beings to overcome alienation in a capitalist society.
The collective struggle in defence of love jihad is important to reject Hindutva led Islamophobia and ensure Indian youth’s constitutional right to love and marry whomever they like and divorce whenever they want. Love and relationships are not supposed to be non-living entity or unchangeable commodity in the name of stability, family and society. Love jihad is a potential weapon against all forms of bigotry.
Love can be used as a tool of all emancipatory struggles. Love, live and laugh to launch a continuous and united struggle against all religious and reactionary forces for the sake of peace and survival of human lives. In every pages of history, love always wins and the power of kings and their empires always failed in survival test of time. Love survives within all odds of time.
---
*Glasgow University, UK

Comments

TRENDING

Aurangzeb’s last will recorded by his Maulvi: Allah shouldn't make anyone emperor

By Mohan Guruswamy  Aurangzeb’s grave is a simple slab open to the sky lying along the roadside at Khuldabad near Aurangabad. I once stopped by to marvel at the tomb of an Emperor of India whose empire was as large as Ashoka the Great's. It was only post 1857 when Victoria's domain exceeded this. The epitaph reads: "Az tila o nuqreh gar saazand gumbad aghniyaa! Bar mazaar e ghareebaan gumbad e gardun bas ast." (The rich may well construct domes of gold and silver on their graves. For the poor folks like me, the sky is enough to shelter my grave) The modest tomb of Aurangzeb is perhaps the least recognised legacies of the Mughal Emperor who ruled the land for fifty eventful years. He was not a builder having expended his long tenure in war and conquest. Towards the end of his reign and life, he realised the futility of it all. He wrote: "Allah should not make anyone an emperor. The most unfortunate person is he who becomes one." Aurangzeb’s last will was re...

Beyond his riding skill, Karl Umrigar was admired for his radiance, sportsmanship, and affability

By Harsh Thakor*  Karl Umrigar's name remains etched in the annals of Indian horse racing, a testament to a talent tragically cut short. An accident on the racetrack at the tender age of nineteen robbed India of a rider on the cusp of greatness. Had he survived, there's little doubt he would have ascended to international stature, possibly becoming the greatest Indian jockey ever. Even 46 years after his death, his name shines brightly, reminiscent of an inextinguishable star. His cousin, Pesi Shroff, himself blossomed into one of the most celebrated jockeys in Indian horse racing.

PUCL files complaint with SC against Gujarat police, municipal authorities for 'unlawful' demolitions, custodial 'violence'

By A Representative   The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has lodged a formal complaint with the Chief Justice of India, urging the Supreme Court to initiate suo-moto contempt proceedings against the police and municipal authorities in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The complaint alleges that these officials have engaged in unlawful demolitions and custodial violence, in direct violation of a Supreme Court order issued in November 2024.

How the slogan Jai Bhim gained momentum as movement of popularity and revolution

By Dr Kapilendra Das*  India is an incomprehensible plural country loaded with diversities of religions, castes, cultures, languages, dialects, tribes, societies, costumes, etc. The Indians have good manners/etiquette (decent social conduct, gesture, courtesy, politeness) that build healthy relationships and take them ahead to life. In many parts of India, in many situations, and on formal occasions, it is common for people of India to express and exchange respect, greetings, and salutation for which we people usually use words and phrases like- Namaskar, Namaste, Pranam, Ram Ram, Jai Ram ji, Jai Sriram, Good morning, shubha sakal, Radhe Radhe, Jai Bajarangabali, Jai Gopal, Jai Jai, Supravat, Good night, Shuvaratri, Jai Bhole, Salaam walekam, Walekam salaam, Radhaswami, Namo Buddhaya, Jai Bhim, Hello, and so on. A soft attitude always creates strong relationships. A relationship should not depend only on spoken words. They should rely on understanding the unspoken feeling too. So w...

Haven't done a good deed, inner soul is cursing me as sinner: Aurangzeb's last 'will'

Counterview Desk The Tomb of Aurangzeb, the last of the strong Mughal emperors, located in Khuldabad, Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, has this epitaph inscribed on it: "Az tila o nuqreh gar saazand gumbad aghniyaa! Bar mazaar e maa ghareebaan gumbad e gardun bas ast" (the rich may well construct domes of gold and silver on their graves. For the poor folks like me, the sky is enough to shelter my grave).

CPM’s evaluation of BJP reflects its political character and its reluctance to take on battle against neo-fascism

By Harsh Thakor*  A controversial debate has emerged in the revolutionary camp regarding the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s categorization of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Many Communists criticize the CPM’s reluctance to label the BJP as a fascist party and India as a fascist state. Various factors must be considered to arrive at an accurate assessment. Understanding the original meaning and historical development of fascism is essential, as well as analyzing how it manifests in the present global and national context.

State Human Rights Commission directs authorities to uphold environmental rights in Vadodara's Vishwamitri River Project

By A Representative  The Gujarat State Human Rights Commission (GSHRC) has ordered state and Vadodara municipal authorities to strictly comply with environmental and human rights safeguards during the Vishwamitri River Rejuvenation Project, stressing that the river’s degradation disproportionately affects marginalized communities and violates citizens’ rights to a healthy environment.  The Commission mandated an immediate halt to ecologically destructive practices, rehabilitation of affected communities, transparent adherence to National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders, and public consultations with experts and residents.   The order follows the Concerned Citizens of Vadodara coalition—environmentalists, ecologists, and urban planners—submitting a detailed letter to authorities, amplifying calls for accountability. The group warned that current plans to “re-section” and “desilt” the river contradict the NGT’s 2021 Vishwamitri River Action Plan, which prioritizes floodpla...

How polarization between different ideological trends within the communist movement sharpened in India

By Harsh Thakor*  This article is a rejoinder to A Note on Slogans of “Left Unity,” “Unity of the Communist Revolutionaries” and “Mass Line” by Umair Ahmed, published on the Nazariya blog .

Vadodara citizens urge authorities to adhere to environmental mandates in Vishwamitri River Rejuvenation Project

By A Representative   A coalition of environmental activists, ecologists, and urban planners in Vadodara has issued an urgent appeal to state and municipal authorities, demanding strict compliance with court-mandated guidelines for the upcoming Vishwamitri River rejuvenation project. Scheduled to commence in March 2025, the initiative aims to mitigate flooding and restore the river, but citizens warn that current plans risk violating National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders and jeopardizing the river’s fragile ecosystem, home to endangered species like crocodiles and Indian Softshell Turtles.  

Implications of deaths of Maoist leaders G. Renuka and Ankeshwarapu Sarayya in Chhattisgarh

By Harsh Thakor*  In the wake of recent security operations in southern Chhattisgarh, two senior Maoist leaders, G. Renuka and Ankeshwarapu Sarayya, were killed. These operations, which took place amidst a historically significant Maoist presence, resulted in the deaths of 31 individuals on March 20th and 16 more three days prior.