All you need to know about BJP's 4-pronged attack on 'love jihad'

Two years back the term love jihad was just a part of the fringe discourse used mainly by the Bajrang Dal or the Vishva Hindu Parishad VHP Today it has been mainstreamed so much so that four state governments all ruled by the BJP have expressed their intent to bring a law to contain this phenomenonThe word love jihad is particularly used to insinuate that the union is not out of affection but with the sole intent to convert the partner The proposed laws by the four states Uttar Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Karnataka and Haryana seek to stop thatThe state that appears to have gone beyond the sketchy objections is Shivraj Singh Chouhanruled Madhya Pradesh where the BJP is comfortably placed after sweeping the recently concluded bypolls The state government functionaries have not only expressed their desire to bring a legislation in the forthcoming winter session of the House but one that will also make conversion for the purpose of marriage a cognisable and nonbailable offenceMadhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra is a power centre in the state whom the BJP is increasingly giving more responsibilities He told reporters in Bhopal earlier this week The draft bill for the proposed legislation called Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantra Vidheyak 2020 is ready The said bill will be tabled in the coming winter session of the AssemblyJust recently Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan too had issued a warning stating Jihad in the name of love would not be tolerated in Madhya PradeshThe term jihad refers to religious war While on a broader scale the idea is to stop any religious conversion for marriages organisations such as the VHP claims that the phenomenon is particularly prevalent where a Muslim boy enters into a wedlock with a Hindu girl by converting herMeanwhile in Haryana state Home Minister Anil Vij recently held a meeting with the senior officials on the issue On the same day when Mishra promised to bring a legislation in MP Vij said a committee will be formed to draft the law for the state of HaryanaThe home department advocate general and other concerned officials will also be included in this committee read an official statementWhile Vij promised a strict law the next course of action is deliberations with Chief Minister Manohar Lal KhattarIn October Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath too had promised an effective law against love jihad In a speech that went viral Adityanath said We will bring an effective law Its my warning to all those who play with the honour and dignity of our sisters and daughters by not revealing their real names and identities If they do not mend their ways their Ram Naam Satya journey will startHe was speaking in the context of an Allahabad High Court ruling which termed conversion for the only purpose of marriage as invalid The judgement provided a legal basis to the Hindutva outfits and the BJP to announce their intent to go ahead with their respective legislationsIn Karnataka the saffron partys sole citadel in southern India Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa floated a similar proposal where he cited news reports of alleged love jihad to stress the need for a legislation to stop itYeddyurappa said earlier this month I dont know about other states But in Karnataka we are going to finish this Luring young girls with the use of money or love is one thing we are taking very seriouslyHe assured stern measures while adding that he has already spoken to key officials over the matterWhile arguments can be made that the Special Marriages Act is there its process being too elaborate and time consuming may be one of the reasons that end up having one of the partners getting converted in an interfaith marriage Moreover the love jihad bogey has now become a political issueInterestingly the Catholic Church in India too had raised the issue In the beginning of this year the Synod of the SyroMalabar Church had claimed that love jihad was a reality It had alleged that Christian women from Kerala were being lured into what they called traps of the Islamic StateThough the Ministry of Home Affairs told the Lok Sabha in February that love jihad is not defined in law and hence no such case has been reported by any central agencies the fact that four states are serious about bringing legislations to stop it shows its political relevanceKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever