Exploring ‘Love Jihad’ And How It Became Right Wing’s Favourite Divisive Tool

Inter-faith love and marriage has been a sensitive issue for several decades in India with right-wing organizations terming it as ‘Love Jihad’ for weddings among Hindus and Muslims.

Created in the year 2009 (Wikipedia), the term ‘Love Jihad’ has now become popular in the country following the crimes involving a Muslim man as an accused and a Hindu woman falling prey to it.

The term was popularly used in Kerala in 2009 after two women were supposedly abducted, forcibly converted and allegedly coerced into marriage with Muslim men (M Rao in his paper on ‘Love Jihad and Demographic Fears’).

However, it is learned that a similar campaign was earlier launched during the 1920s by extremist right-wing organizations.

Charu Gupta, a professor at the University of Delhi, published a paper ‘Hindu Women, Muslim Men: Love Jihad and Conversion’ in 2009 where she said the use of the term 'Love Jihad' is similar to a campaign in the 1920s in North India against alleged ‘abductions’.

In her paper, she asserted, “The fake claim by the Hindu right that there is a ‘Love Jihad’ organization which is forcing Hindu women to convert to Islam through false expressions of love is similar to a campaign in the 1920s in north India against alleged ‘abductions’. Whether 1920 or 2009, Hindu patriarchal notions appear deeply entrenched in such campaigns: images of passive victimized Hindu women at the hands of inscrutable Muslims abound, and any possibility of women exercising their legitimate right to love and their right to choice is ignored.”

Similar controversies over inter-faith marriages among Hindus and Muslims were relatively common in the 1920s during which the Hindutva organizations typically termed alleged forceful marriage as ‘abductions’.

After almost nine decades, the right-wing organizations created the term ‘Love Jihad’ in 2009 as part of a campaign to foster delusional belief, the Hindutva publications disseminated the conspiracy theory to call out the Hindus to protect their women from Muslim men.

The term has again become popular in our country after a few Hindu women became victims to the crimes committed by their partners belonging to the other faith. After these kinds of crimes came to the fore, right-wing organizations are trying to implement the Islamophobic conspiracy theory.

When the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walker in Delhi created an outrage across the country where her live-in partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala killed and chopped her body parts, the right-wing organizations left no stone unturned to disseminate their propaganda of ‘Love Jihad’ demanding the harshest punishment to the accused. It was as if like a cherry on top for the organizations.

It is interesting to note that when Aaftab committed the gruesome crime, people also fell for their agenda and started to flood social media platforms terming it as ‘Love Jihad’ and raising concerns of how one should not be involved with a Muslim man. They made it look like all inter-faith marriages are doomed to have horrific outcomes.

The Hindutva organizations have been trying to implement their conspiracy theory by calling out Hindus not let their daughters get married to Muslim men because they will be unsafe citing the examples where Hindu women were killed by Muslim men.

Recently, three members of a family were killed in a broad daylight in Assam’s Golaghat district causing shockwaves across the state. After committing the horrific crime, the accused surrendered to the police and revealed that the individuals he killed were his wife and in-laws.

Following the incident, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the bereaved family and assured stringent action against the accused. In regard to this incident, the chief minister said, “Earlier in Assam, when interfaith marriages were conducted under the Special Marriage Act there were no reports of religious conversion, however, these days, conditions are being slapped on the girls to convert their religion. Such kind of incidents of Love Jihad proved that it is a real concept. Films like ‘The Kerela Story’ is not fake or baseless.”

When such incidents occur where the accused is a Muslim and victim is a Hindu, it is often seen that the government is quick in terming it as ‘Love Jihad’. Although several Hindutva organization do not miss a chance to make a comment on such crimes but the BJP-led government also do not refrain from making such claims that Hindu daughters should be protected by not letting them marry Muslim men to avoid conversion and in worst case scenario, get killed.

Speaking on forceful conversion, it is claimed that if one Hindu marries a Muslim then he/she will have to get converted, however, this is not same in everyone’s case as a few Muslims also let their significant other to practice their religion.

In one instance, a Muslim girl from Kamrup district got married to her long-time boyfriend who belonged to Hindu religion. Her family did not pressurize the groom to get converted before or after marriage instead the bride tried to follow the rituals and customs of Hindu religion.

Citing this example, by offering full solidarity to the ones who unfortunately had fallen victim to forceful conversion or crime, I would like to clarify that I am not supporting or encouraging any of these sorts but trying to make everyone think rationally before generalizing the issue based on news published or remarks made by influential people believing it to be true.

It should be taken due consideration that not all inter-faith marriages among Hindus and Muslims would turn horrific as some are there who are living their happy lives.

The news published and broadcasted on media influencing people making a claim on how girls are unsafe in inter-faith marriage and attempt to twist the mindset of liberal public by creating stigma to believe all the stereotypes.

Meanwhile, we should also remain alerted against a few Muslim boys who befriend Hindu girls on social media by changing their names to lay trap on these innocent and clueless girls into marrying them and get forcefully converted. This is, however, a serious and a major cause that the authorities should rather focus on, regardless of any religion, than terming it as ‘Love Jihad’ to form Islamophobia.

Although, our society did have a stereotype against inter-faith marriages, however, with time and rational thinking, it got reduced. Unfortunately, it has emerged again owing to the recent events of crimes committed mostly by Muslim men to their Hindu partners providing a change to right wing organizations fulfill their propaganda.

Speaking on this issue, one said, “Today, they are using the term ‘Love Jihad’ for the Muslims but what about inter-faith marriages among other religions and in addition such crimes also take place within them. They are playing with words to provoke other religions but fortunately, the people have started to realize their propaganda.”

It is on us of how to avoid falling for their propaganda and think rationally and at the same time remain cautious to not walk into the trap set by a few boys into marrying them and get converted.

Also Read: “Love Jihad is a True & Real Concept”: CM Sarma on Golaghat Triple Murder