The Hate “Foreigner” Jihad of Hindu Nationalist Organisations Part- 3
Irfan Engineer
Love Jihad Campaign and the BJP
The fact that the term “love jihad” was coined much later shows that it is by way afterthought. Though a massive attack and campaign was mounted during the Usha Bhargav case in Jabalpur in 1961 and Hanif-Varsha case in Bardoli in 1998, and in many other cases, charge of “love jihad” was not levied. The attacks on interreligious marriages were on usual ground of abduction and rape, which is normally resorted to by parents of the woman who decides to choose her life partner.
As the term jihad was popularized by media to signify terror attacks alleged to be carried out by SIMI or Indian Mujahideen or such organizations, a clever Hindutva mind borrowed the term to stigmatize interreligious marriages particularly those involving Muslim man and a Hindu woman. Jihad, many Islamic scholars have argued, means to strive or to struggle, and is struggle with self to control one’s ego, desires, greed, negative emotions like jealousy, fear that leads one away from God’s path etc. However, thanks to medieval Muslim rulers and numerous politically motivated organizations misusing Islam on one hand and the media on the other hand, they popularized jihad to be some sort of war against non-believers including terrorist attacks. Jihad was linked to stigmatize interreligious marriages first in Kerala only a couple of years ago and the term was later exported to Northern Karnataka where HNOs extensively campaigned against Muslim boys and Hindu girls dating.
Though the HNOs in Karnataka aggressively propagated against interreligious courtships even exaggerating the incidences and attributing motives on part of Muslim youth, their real target was individual liberties and freedom of choice, particularly of the women to chose their life partner. In fact they were opposing dating and courtship itself among the young people and imposing a code where son and daughter are expected to obey the parents in all decisions pertaining to their lives, including choices of life partner. The campaign against marriage by choice of siblings became immensely popular among the elders in the community. However, achievement of the campaign using the term “love jihad” was that even the university students, who normally support interreligious marriages, were mislead to oppose it. When our organization – the CSSS had organized a workshop in an upcoming university for their students, this writer was surprised by the opposition encountered to interreligious marriages.
UP Elections
The BJP won limited seats in the UP Assembly. For the 16th Lok Sabha elections, BJP identified UP is a crucial state if it had to come to power. Babri Masjid issue did not attract the electorate. The HNOs were therefore actively propagating and problematizing interreligious interactions between young people. The campaign was extensively taken up in the Jat dominated Western UP where communities are particularly sensitive about “honour” of women and where khap panchayats are fairly strong. Jats and Muslims once enjoyed good relations and fought together for the Independence right from the 1857 rebellion. In fact the muley jats that inhabits Muzaffarnagar are recent converts to Hinduism. Jats and Muslims together were the backbone of the Bharatiya Kisan Union of Mahendra Singh Tikait and politically supported both the communities politically supported Charan Singh and later Ajit Singh. A steady and sustained anti-love jihad campaign for a couple of years helped polarize the communities on religious lines. As the 16th Lok Sabha elections were approaching and winning a couple of seats in UP for the BJP was crucial to win the General Elections. Aggressive propaganda commenced to polarize the electorate. All issues were tried. The issue that helped most in stoking anti-Muslim feelings was Muslim boys and Hindu girls courting each other or Muslim boys teasing Hindu girls, though boys of all castes and communities tease girls irrespective of their religion and have misogynist attitudes and nurture patriarchal culture.
Muzaffarnagar is one of the most developed and prosperous districts in UP. The rate of industrial development is faster in than many other districts and towns with sugar, steel and paper as major industries. With prosperity, education is growing as well. Due to increasing education among young people, there is increased co-mingling across gender, religion and caste. This leads to increased conflict between old cultural norms and traditions, particularly of strict rules of exogamy and endogamy in arranging marriages, and new sites of socialization which affords anonymity and makes it difficult to enforce caste and community norms in traditional ways. The khap panchayats of various castes were struggling to re-impose restrictions, particularly on young women. The propaganda of love jihad therefore struck a sympathetic chord among the elders of the Jat community and politicised the issue of feudal order and honour of women. Continuous propaganda fuelled to anti-Muslim sentiments and ultimately leading to Jat-Muslim riots in Septenmber 2013 which in turn further polarized the situation. Muzaffar nagar riots further polarized the communities along religious following and the BJP reaped rich electoral benefits. The BJP is hoping to repeat its electoral victory in UP Assembly by-elections, and hence is pursuing anti-love jihad campaign to keep the communal pot boiling at least till the UP Assembly by-elections in the 11 constituency necessitated by the MLAs getting elected as MPs. There is nothing more to it.
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The Hate “Foreigner” Jihad of Hindu Nationalist Organisations Part – 1
Why does Hindutva problematize Love?
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