RSS push for law on interfaith marriage
NEW DELHI: After four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states declared their intent to frame laws to prevent religious conversions through coercion or deception in marriage, the party’s ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is exerting pressure on other states to bar the practice they have dubbed “love jihad”.
To be sure, religious conversion is protected by law and is a state subject. While a bunch of states already have laws in place that make conversion through inducement, coercion or deception an offence that invites a jail term as well as a fine, the Sangh wants states to frame laws that specifically deal with conversion through interfaith marriage.
Alok Kumar, the international working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, an affiliate of the RSS, said the announcements by Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana that they will explore legal options to prevent marriage for religious conversion are an outcome of the VHP’s longstanding demand.
“There is an urgent need to take steps. We have made this demand based on the ground situation. There are so many cases where Muslims enticed girls by posing as Hindus and revealed their identity only after marriage. Conversion through inducement and deception is not acceptable. These are demographic aggressors and it is a planned effort,” he said.
The VHP has petitioned all state governments to frame laws to regulate inter-faith marriages. “We have demanded there should be safeguards against such marriages and to make it mandatory for families on both sides to be given a month’s notice ahead of any interfaith marriage...We have asked all state governments, irrespective of which party is in power, to frame such laws,” Kumar said.
The VHP has also demanded that all interfaith marriages should be registered and in case of complaints of a crime, an investigation should be completed within 30 days.
Last week, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath referred to an order by the Allahabad high court, which said religious conversion is not necessary for marriage, to support his decision to enact a new law.
In Assam, health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that if the BJP returns to power in 2021, it will start a “strict fight” against “love jihad” and there would be severe punishment for those who hide their religious identity in marriage. In Haryana, CM Manohar Lal Khattar also said his government was taking the love jihad issue very seriously as did Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
BJP leaders who spoke on condition of anonymity said love jihad, based on complaints, needs to be addressed.
“There are laws against forced conversions... What else can be done to prevent deception will have to be legally weighed in,” said a senior party functionary.
The Congress has pronounced that such declaration would be unconstitutional. Former minister and Lok Sabha MP, Manish Tewari, said: “It is unconstitutional because the state has no right to interfere in the lives of two consenting adults...”.
THE VHP HAS PETITIONED
ALL STATE GOVTS TO FRAME LAWS TO REGULATE INTERFAITH MARRIAGES