Skip to main content

Sangh Parivar's Love Jihad campaign also 'pitted against' inter-caste marriages

A Sangh Parivar campaign in UP against Love Jihad 
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*
The Love Jihad rhetoric is back in action in almost all the BJP-ruled states. They appear to be competing with each other in proclaiming to come up with a law to stop the ‘conspiracy’ to convert Hindu girls into Islam in the guise of ‘love’. The fact is, as a political party, BJP has been very active in creating issues and narratives which are woven around Muslim conspiracy theories. It suits to its political interests.
The Love Jihad theory is a calculated effort to deny individuals their choice to marry. India lives in castes and millions of Indians have been infected by the ideas of caste supremacy. Every caste has been fed with the ideas of its ‘golden past’, even as vilifying others. Crossing the caste barrier one of the biggest ‘dissents’ of our time. The same is true of inter-faith marriage.
Before the term Love Jihad was coined, we have had ‘love marriage’, as if marrying someone you love is wrong. Considered a “union” of two families, marriages have been turned into a huge industry. Investment in marriages have been considered a matter of ‘izzat’ or ‘prestige’. Crossing caste or religious barrier to marry someone you love is believed, under this narrative, a threat to caste or community “izzat”.
Targeting Muslims and Islam in the name of Love Jihad, in fact, serves the proponents of casteist forces who are proud of their ‘caste ancestry’. They want to maintain status quo. This is exemplified by the way the Uttarakhand government recently reacted to a document issued by a local district officer, which speaks about a government scheme that promotes interfaith and inter-caste marriages. It is a right-wing backlash to turn interfaith and inter-caste love marriages into something dirty.
Most of the interfaith marriages happen through the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The Act is being misused by the administration, particularly its clauses which speak of ‘no objection’ certificates from the families of both the boy and the girl. A notice period of 30 days is given. The notice of the proposed marriage pasted in public places.
There is nothing special about the Act. It does not provide any safety and security to the young couple seeking to get married. Lawyers use it to ‘arrange’ things. The cost is extracted from the young couple, which is ready to shed any amount to get things done.
The narrative opposing inter-faith marriages by BJP leaders is bound to have disastrous impact on ‘inter-caste’ couples, too. Caste is the one point they will never want to cross the border. Whenever such couples reportedly ‘run away’ from their places, cases are filed against ‘boys’ for ‘abducting’ the girl. False certificates are produced to suggest that the girl is a ‘minor’ in order to push the ‘abduction’ argument. If the things don’t “improve”, rape charges are pushed. All this is happening at a time when people have been found celebrating mob lynchings.
Young boys and girls are being killed by parents and relatives in the name of ‘threat to social order’. Ultimately, it is an all-out effort to ‘protect’ the social order of caste privileges. It is a strange order where everyone feels proud of being ‘above’ someone else. Caste hierarchy and its past is sought to be valorised and glorified to justify the existing social order.
Love Jihad has another specific characteristic: There is a huge outcry from those seeking to uphold purity of Hinduism when a Hindu woman marries a Muslim man, but this outcry evaporates in case a Muslim girl marries to Hindu boy. Ironically, in the latter case, it is the Muslim conservatives who seek to suggest that their community’s “izzat” is at stake.
There is a political motive behind Love Jihad. When Kareena Kapoor married Saif Ali Khan, it was dubbed as Love Jihad. On the other hand, in February 2019, RSS leader Ram Lal’s niece got married to a Muslim, yet it was blessed by all the top party leaders. BJP already has a number of leaders like Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaz Hussain, whose wives of Hindu. And, none has sought to question Dharmendra and Hema Malini, both BJP MPs, converting to Islam to get married! 
When Dr Ambedkar, Periyar and other leaders wanted inter-caste marriages to break the caste barrier, their aim was to build a new society
When Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Periyar and other leaders wanted inter-caste marriages to break the caste barrier, their aim was to build a new society. One must be proud of being a humanist or secular humanist in delinking oneself from the past, which seeks to confine one to one’s caste-regional-religious identity. Our birth should be considered an accident, as we do not decide but we are given a caste or a religious identity to define us. This religious identity then creates artificial barriers and vilifies others who are not ‘like us’.
One needs toto take into account how Hindus and Muslims bigotry feeds each other. In the Indian subcontinent, Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists carry on with their own propaganda against plurality and make the other side look like a threat to their basic existence. As and when Hindus and Muslims get rid of the clutches of religious fanatics, these forces will automatically die down.
In fact, one should be proud of having an affair beyond one’s religion or caste, or even nationality, instead of getting succumbed to the pressure of getting ‘legitimised’ by the ‘religious’ elite of one’s community. A secular couple should promote secular narratives for their children, instead of preaching that religion never preaches violence.
Most of the violence that we witness in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar are religion-based, as the majoritarian religious identity seeks to take political control of the state, and for that stories are sought to be woven in order to find a villain. The Indian Hindutva campaigners find it through narratives around Pakistan, Article 370, Ayodhya, Common Civil Code and Love Jihad. In our neighbouring countries they have other narratives on similar lines.
One should feel proud of Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s Constitution and its humanist values that seek to legitimise interfaith and inter-caste union. The constitutional morality and not religious values, where a ‘girl’s’ religious identity is considered a loser, ought to be considered supreme. In multicultural societies, we need to explore and build up new socio-cultural values so that it does not become a hunting ground for competing religious fundamentalists.
A new narrative of ‘humanist marriages’ or ‘constitutional marriages’ or ‘civil marriages’, based on civilised principles, ought to be promoted. Religious practices should not be allowed to come in the way of marriages. They should be allowed to be dedicated to secular laws and principles. Inter-caste or interfaith marriages can survive only when one has faith in the Constitution and modern humanist values of equality of partners.
The real threat to dominant religious values can emerge only when one challenges the narrative that these marriages are not mere marriages but ‘self-respect’ marriages, to quote Periyar. where a woman is an equal partner and does not lose her identity. It is important that ensure that marriages become a union of two individuals who are mature enough to know about their rights, and when it is not possible to live together, they have the right to legally dissociate amicably.
Meanwhile, it is relieving that a two judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, Justices Vivek Aggarwal and Pankaj Naqvi, have upheld the rights of two individuals to marry as per their choice. It has overturned a single bench judgment of 2014, which was becoming the basis for the law against Love Jihad. The 2014 judgment had suggested that conversion for the sake of ‘marriage’ was not acceptable.
The two High Court judges have overturned the single bench judgment calling it in bad law. They said, “To disregard the choice of a person who is of the age of majority would not only be antithetic to the freedom of choice of a grown-up individual but would also be a threat to the concept of unity in diversity.”
Indeed, the right to live with a person of his/her choice, irrespective of religious persuasion, is intrinsic to the right to life and personal liberty.
---
*Human rights defender

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...

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...

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).

राजस्थान, मध्यप्रदेश, पश्चिम बंगाल, झारखंड और केरल फिसड्डी: जल जीवन मिशन के लक्ष्य को पाने समन्वित प्रयास जरूरी

- राज कुमार सिन्हा*  जल संसाधन से जुड़ी स्थायी समिति ने वर्तमान लोकसभा सत्र में पेश रिपोर्ट में बताया है कि "नल से जल" मिशन में राजस्थान, मध्यप्रदेश, पश्चिम बंगाल, झारखंड और केरल फिसड्डी साबित हुए हैं। जबकि देश के 11 राज्यों में शत-प्रतिशत ग्रामीणों को नल से जल आपूर्ति शुरू कर दी गई है। रिपोर्ट में समिति ने केंद्र सरकार को सिफारिश की है कि मिशन पुरा करने में राज्य सरकारों की समस्याओं पर गौर किया जाए। 

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 .

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.