Couple can reunite in ‘love jihad’ case, top Indian court rules
New Delhi: India’s Supreme Court has upheld the right of citizens to choose their spouse and convert to another religion, a landmark ruling in a case involving what rightwing Hindu nationalists refer to as “love jihad”.
The judgment, which came on Monday, was seen as a blow to the governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. The court’s decision effectively ended a twoyear quest by a father to nullify his daughter’s marriage to a Muslim man in the southern state of Kerala, saying that she had been forced to convert to Islam.
The daughter says she acted of her own free will. Right-wing Hindu nationalists have labelled the case an instance of what they call “love jihad”, after a belief that India’s minority Muslims will take over the country by persuading Hindu women to marry them and convert to Islam.
Hindus make up around 74 per cent of the country’s population of 1.3 billion, and Muslims 14 per cent. Hindu nationalists also oppose conversions to Christianity.
Although India’s Constitution is secular and provides protection to all faiths, the issue of “love jihad” has gripped headlines, pitting secular activists against their religious peers and government officials. Ms Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said it was “sad for India that a court needs to remind the country of these very basic constitutional liberties”.
“That there’s an increasing group of people who think they can get away with forcing their ideology on people - that speaks to a lack of the rule of law,” she said.
“The courts stopped two consenting adults from continuing their marriage.”
Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi - an avowed Hindu nationalist - came to power in 2014, sectarian violence has risen, according to a study by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a government body. Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision is the culmination of a twoyear battle between Hadiya, a 26-year-old student, and her father, Mr Asokan K.M.