RSS push for law on interfaith marriage

After 4 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states declared their intent to border legal guidelines to forestall non secular conversions by means of coercion or deception in marriage, the occasion’s ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is exerting strain on different states to bar the apply they’ve dubbed “love jihad”.

To be certain, non secular conversion is protected by legislation and is a state topic. While a bunch of states have already got legal guidelines in place that make conversion by means of inducement, coercion or deception an offence that invitations a jail time period in addition to a nice, the Sangh needs states to border legal guidelines that particularly cope with conversion by means of interfaithmarriage.

Alok Kumar, the worldwide working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, an affiliate of the RSS, stated the bulletins by Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana that they are going to discover authorized choices to forestall marriage for non secular conversion are an end result 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 stated.

The VHP has petitioned all state governments to border legal guidelines to manage 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. And if marriage has been fraudulently conducted there should be deterrent punishment. We have asked all state governments, irrespective of which party is in power, to frame such laws. And we feel some [non-BJP] governments are also sensitized about this issue. In the past, when the laws against forceful conversion were drafted, it was during the Congress rule in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha,” Kumar stated.

The VHP has additionally demanded that every one interfaith marriages needs to be registered and in case of complaints of against the law, an investigation needs to be accomplished inside 30 days. “There should be fast-track courts to deal with such cases and the government should request the court to carry out the hearing on a day-to-day basis,” Kumar stated.

Last week, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath referred to an order by the Allahabad excessive courtroom, which stated non secular conversion just isn’t mandatory for marriage, to help his determination to enact a brand new legislation. “I warn those who conceal identity and play with the respect of our sisters. If you don’t mend your ways, your Ram Naam Satya journey will begin,” he stated final week, referring to the slogan that Hindus chant whereas carrying the lifeless to the cremation website.

In Assam, well being minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has stated that if the BJP returns to energy in 2021, it’s going to begin a “strict fight” in opposition to “love jihad” and there could be extreme punishment for individuals who conceal their non secular id in marriage.

In Haryana, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar additionally stated his authorities was taking the love jihad problem very critically as did Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

BJP leaders who spoke on situation of anonymity stated love jihad, primarily based on complaints, must be addressed. “There are laws against forced conversion; interfaith marriages are conducted through the Special Marriage Act so there are safeguards in place. What else can be done to prevent deception will have to be legally weighed in,” stated a senior occasion functionary.

The Congress has pronounced that such declaration could be unconstitutional. Former minister and Lok Sabha MP, Manish Tewari, stated: “It is unconstitutional because the state has no right to interfere in the lives of two consenting adults. The state cannot transgress into peoples’ bedrooms; it is a violation of the fundamental right to privacy. The faith I profess is also guaranteed under the Constitution.”

His view was echoed by senior lawyer Sanjay Hegde, who stated the state’s intervention in marriages between consenting adults will likely be a violation of rights. “I know there is love and I know there is the concept of jihad, but I don’t think there is something called love jihad. There are people who seem to have love for fights based on religion. Any law that prevents an adult from marrying any other adult of their choice will be unconstitutional on more grounds than one. It will be violation of privacy, it will be violation of the freedom of religion and will be manifest arbitrarily,” Hegde stated.

The demand for extra stringent checks in opposition to non secular conversions just isn’t new and has been raised in Parliament as effectively. As a member of the Lok Sabha in 2015, Yogi Adityanath had moved a non-public member’s invoice in search of a ban on non secular conversion. He had sought the insertion of a brand new article, 25 (a), in Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2015 that will ban forcible non secular conversions. In 2015, Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande launched the Prohibition on Religious Conversion (by Inducement or Force) Bill 2015 within the Lok Sabha. The invoice proposed a jail time period of as much as 10 years for these responsible of compelled conversions and a nice of Rs.1 lakh.

Masoom Moradabadi, editor of Jadid Khabar and a former member of the All India Muslims Personal Law Board stated situations such because the current killing of a woman in Haryana’s Ballabgarh which are being cited as an proof of affection jihad shouldn’t been seen from a non secular perspective.

“These are crimes that should be condemned. These are not acts based on religion. Such crimes can be carried out by people of any faith.”