Discard The Disparaging Terms Like 'Love Jihad' And 'Bhagwa Love Trap'

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam

16 April 2025

Based on local reports and social media videos, OpIndia has compiled several cases (here, here and here) where Hindu men and Muslim women were attacked by extremists under the pretext of the ‘Bhagwa love trap.’ OpIndia has also published an investigative report, highlighting how Islamists are using WhatsApp groups to target Hindu-Muslim couples.

Source: opindia.com

'Bhagwa Love trap’ is a baseless theory about Hindu outfits, supposedly training Hindu youth to lure, and entrap Muslim women and turn them into non-Muslims. OpIndia has reported that an Islamic cleric by the name of Sajjad Nomani has been making such outrageous claims since 2021.

Hindus, esp. Hindutva outfits, coined a baseless and pejorative term 'Love Jihad' a few years ago. It clearly has political hues. Now Muslims are using an equally idiotic term, 'Bhagwa Love Trap.' The opposition to interfaith relationships whether from Hindus or Muslims is rooted in the patriarchal nature of Indian society. We may have made progress in some ways but by and large a woman marrying someone from another faith is not something which is acceptable. It stems from the notions of patriarchal shame and giving the family a bad name. Love is such a beautiful emotion and when words like Jihad and Bhagwa are brought in, it (love) gets adulterated. Many Muslim men converted their Hindu/Christian/Sikh wives to Islam, but there have also been many Muslim men who didn't convert their Hindu wives. Both have followed their respective faiths despite officially getting married.

Many Hindus also tied the knot with Muslim women but those Hindu men let their Muslim wives follow Islam. Sunil Dutt and Kamaljeet are the best examples. Shashi Rekhi (also known by his screen name Kamaljeet) married Waheeda Rahman in 1974. There was no conversion. Kamaljeet died a Hindu and Waheeda is still a devout Muslim. Sunil Dutt didn't convert Nargis and vice versa. Farah Khan married Shirish Kunder. Their religion has never been an issue. Indian independence activist and a noted lawyer Asaf Ali married Aruna Asaf Ali (née Ganguly), who was 20 years junior to her husband. She remained a Hindu. The highly erudite and liberal Asaf Ali never imposed Islam on his young Hindu wife. Shah Rukh Khan's wife Gauri is still a Hindu. Ace cricketer Zaheer Khan's wife Sagarika Ghatge hasn't converted to Islam. The universally loved affable actor Farooq Shaikh's wife Roopa Jain retained her respective faith till she breathed her last. Naseeruddin Shah's wife Ratna Pathak is still a Hindu. Such examples are galore but many of us still believe in conspiracy theories like 'Love Jihad' and 'Bhagwa Love Trap.'

A few years ago, a team of researchers analysed data from 170 studies involving over 158,000 participants, mainly from the United States, the United Kingdom and Poland. They focused on studies that measured participants’ motivations or personality traits associated with conspiratorial thinking.

The researchers found that overall, people were motivated to believe in conspiracy theories by a need to understand and feel safe in their environment and a need to feel like the community they identify with is superior to others.

Even though many conspiracy theories seem to provide clarity or a supposed secret truth about confusing events, a need for closure or a sense of control were not the strongest motivators to endorse conspiracy theories. Instead, the researchers found some evidence that people were more likely to believe specific conspiracy theories when they were motivated by social relationships. For instance, participants who perceived social threats were more likely to believe in events-based conspiracy theories, such as the theory that the U.S. government planned the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, rather than an abstract theory that, in general, governments plan to harm their citizens to retain power. Let people love and also MAKE LOVE.

Why should clerics, priests, Mullahs, Maulvis, people and an ever-interfering society act as flies in the ointment? Remove all these silly prefixes and suffixes like Jihad, Bhagwa, Trap and all that jazz.

Let love blossom on its own and alone / Pare it down to the bone.

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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.

URL:    https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/discard-love-jihad-bhagwa-love/d/135182

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