Why Is There Such An Opposition To Interfaith Marriage?
By Ram Puniyani
23 Jan 2021
Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful
Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020, passed by UP on 27th November 2020, has
set the ball rolling. On one hand many other BJP ruled states like MP and
Haryana are activating their machinery to bring in similar law in their states
and on the other at social level many interfaith couples are being subjected to
harassment, some of the Muslim men in particular are being put behind the bars.
This law has intentions which are out and out communal as already from 1960s
there have been anti-conversion laws. The new laws have goals which are
sinister and have the potential of being misused to create social disharmony.
While the ordinance does not use the word
love jihad, the foot soldiers of the Hindu nationalist politics are out in the
open with apprehending Muslim Man-Hindu girl couple and subjecting them to
increasing degrees of torture. In Northern states the phenomenon of
intimidation and violence against such couples, the Muslim men in particular is
surging. Gradually more couples are being brought into the spiral of moral
policing and intimidations. The worst part of the process is that those taking
the laws into their hands enjoy impunity and are becoming bolder in creating a
divisive atmosphere in the society and pushing back the minority Muslim
community into submission and marginalization. At the same time these are
putting pressure on Hindu girls and restricting their mobility and freedom.
This time two issues are being rolled into
one. The fear of conversions away from Hinduism is being linked to Hindu girls
having relationship with Muslim boys. At one level interfaith and inter-caste
relationships are natural in an open society, where people from different
castes/religion interact at various levels.
Dislike for interfaith marriages was put
bluntly by the UP Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who citing a recent ruling of
the Allahabad High Court which said religious conversion for the sake of
marriage is unacceptable, warned that those waging “love jihad” should mend
their ways or be prepared for their last journey — “Ram Naam Satya Hai Ki Yatra
Nikalne Waali Hai”. (The slogan recited in the funeral processions) The
instructions have also been passed down that parents should keep a watch on
their daughters.
The new law brought in by the UP Government
needs to be questioned in the courts as it is an outright attack on different
clauses of the Constitution, which gives us the freedom to choose, practice and
propagate our faith and other provisions giving us liberty to choose our life
partner. This present law (UP and possibly in other states) aims to popularize
that Hindu culture is under threat, Hindu girls are vulnerable and Hindu males
have to act as their protectors. While the ordinance does not mention the word
love jihad, the background and the statements of the top leaders of Hindu
nationalism and the actions of vigilantes makes it clear that it is an outright
attempt to target the inter faith marriages , especially when the groom is a
Muslim. The accusation is that after such marriages the Hindu girl is unable to
practice her religion in her marital home and is forced to convert.
Such cases of interfaith marriages are few
and far between in this large country of ours’. In more democratized countries
interfaith marriages are on the rise, close to becoming social norm. Also
Muslim girl and Hindu boy cases are fewer in number, and in the present
scenario even the Hindu boy (Ankit Saxena) has to face the wrath of the parents
of the girl. The Trinamool Congress MP Nusrat Jahan was also trolled for her
choice to marry a Hindu. But overall the hue and cry, the target is the Muslim
boy.
In Maharashtra, a group “Hindu Rakshak
Samiti” has been claiming to save Hindu religion by breaking up the
Hindu-Muslim couples, if the girl happens to be a Hindu. A booklet in Marathi
on Love Jihad shows a Muslim boy riding the Motor bike, with Hindu girl riding
pillion. In case of a Muslim girl marrying a Hindu and converting is presented
as Ghar Wapsi (return home) so is not attacked by Hindu vigilante groups. The police
investigation mostly showed that there is no such phenomenon as Love Jihad. The
organizational promotion of such marriages is a hoax but has become part of
social understanding.
Why are there such and opposition to
interfaith marriage? Is it a plan by Muslims to lure Hindu girls, marry and
convert them? This is a make believe propaganda. As such it is an attempt to
paint the Muslim men doing it deliberately under a plan! What is missed out in
the whole scheme of things is that here, in this assertive aggressive
propaganda and violence the agency of Hindu girls/women is reduced to zero.
Hindu girls are presented as being gullible and without any will or decision
making power of their own. While Muslim men are presented as a threat to
Hinduism and the Hindu girls are presented as being without any mind of their
own. The advice being given to parents to keep a watch on the movements of
their daughters and their contacts is a mechanism to control the lives of
girls.
All sectarian nationalist ideologies are
strongly patriarchal and so the woman has to be under the control of men as
‘their property’. Patriarchal values and nationalism under the wraps of
religion go hand in hand. With Independence and implementation of Indian
Constitution this journey takes a good leap and we can see the women as their
own selves coming to all the spheres of Indian social, educational and
political life of the country. This is a matter of discomfiture to those who
pay lip service to values of equality and eulogize the ancient holy texts,
which give subordinate place to women.
Hope the judiciary is able to restrain the
state governments in withdrawing these laws which are oppressive. The
interfaith amity needs to be promoted at all the levels.
Original
headline:
Source:
The Milli Gazette
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/there-such-opposition-interfaith-marriage/d/124182