The politics of 'love jihad': Tara Shadeo allegation adds fuel to communal fires

The phrase ‘Love jihad’ - referring to an alleged ploy by Muslim men to woo and then convert Hindu girls to Islam - is fast becoming a popular buzz word both in news headlines and on twitter timelines. The theory is being spread by a number of RSS backed right wing groups such as the Dharma Jagran Manch, which according to this report in the Indian Express, even went so far as to tie rakhis on Hindu girls, requesting them not to fall prey to Muslim youths who lure them to convert their religion. The latest lighted match to be thrown on this already explosive cauldron of communal tensions is an account by national level shooter Tara Shadeo, who has alleged that she was deceived by one Ranjit Kumar Kohli into marriage, only to discover that his real name was Raqibul Hasan Khan. According to the Times of India, “She said in her complaint that she was tortured for over a month to accept her husband’s religion”. A fact that was confirmed to the newspaper by the Ranchi SSP who is quoted as saying_, “Raqibul Hasan Khan was known as Ranjit Kumar Kohli among people in Ranchi. After their marriage, he forced Tara to have a nikaah, which she refused, and was tortured for raising her voice in protest.”_ [caption id=“attachment_1679583” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image: AFP[/caption] This incident has predictably given more grist the proponents of the ‘Love jihad’ conspiracy. According to the TOI report: Hindu religious organizations like the VHP called for a Ranchi bandh on Monday against Tara’s fraudulent marriage, her torture and confinement. They demanded a CBI probe into Hasan’s role, alleging he could be part of jihadi outfit carrying out forcible conversions by luring Hindu girls into marriage. The BJP has been playing up the ’love jihad’ bogeyman, but over the weekend, stopped short of an official endorsement at its 2-day executive committee meet in UP. The Express had quoted state party president Laxmikant Bajpai as saying, “Issues of ‘love jihad’ and conversion of Hindus would be raised during discussions over law and order situation in the state and the party will also draft its future action plan to fight against these issues”. However following a political outcry, particularly from the ruling Samajwadi Party in the state, the party decided to drop the phrase, and instead resorted to ambiguous language in its post-meet statement, which read, “Is it just a coincidence or a design behind atrocities against women of a particular community and perpetrated by those belonging to a particular community?” Such coyness, however, does little to disguise the party’s intent to capitalise on rising communal fears in UP. The DNA points to numerous instances where the local BJP has tried to spin individual Hindu-Muslim relationship as instances of a love jihad conspiracy, including already sensitive towns like Faizabad.

“There have been many such incidents, especially in west UP, of late where certain elements have been deliberately been blowing up small and petty disputes,” UP chief secretary Alok Ranjan told DNA. “In many places, they have instigated violence and arson. We are identifying these people who are clearly part of a conspiracy. We have also directed our district officers to respond swiftly to such situations and nip the trouble in the bud,” he added.

A report in Hindustan Times points out how the narrative that Muslim boys are luring Hindu girls is gaining popularity in Western UP thanks to the local Hindi media. One local journalist told HT’s Prashant Jha, “It is so common. They call themselves Sonu Bhai, Pappu bhai, and they wear red hand bands to appear like Hindus. And then they trap our girls.” He also shows “files of a Hindi newspaper of the past few months. Pages 2 and 3, dedicated to local news, were littered with stories about Muslim boys and Hindu girls getting together.” On being questioned if Hindu boys do the same with Muslim girls, the journalist says that’s not the case. As Firstpost columnist Ajaz Ashraf wrote of the role of local media in fomenting communal tensions, "[I]ts journalists are often paid poorly, and are required to supplement their income through other means… All this creates a condition conducive to playing a partisan role, to become sucked in the dynamics of local politics. Most of them don’t have the means to defy the local power hierarchy, which is often implicated in rioting, as they fear reprisals and, worse, do not enjoy the protection that journalists of national media organisations enjoy. Hindi news clippings of Tara Shadeo are now doing the rounds of Twitter accompanied by allegations of an “extremist” conspiracy – thereby closing the national-local media loop. But is there really a ’love jihad’? An NDTV investigation raises serious doubts about this conspiracy theory, noting “that the data of violence against women -  a serious problem in UP - is never compiled on the basis of religion of the accused.  What the official data (from the UP police) does tell us is that the Meerut range is UP’s rape epicentre with 389 cases registered last year, the highest in the state. In 2013, Meerut also clocked 423 dowry cases, also the highest in UP, and 1119 cases of kidnapping of women, the second highest in UP.  There is nothing to suggest that minorities are responsible for these high numbers.” NDTV’s own review of the rape cases registered in the area this year reveals that of the 37 cases, only seven of the accused are from a minority community: " Of the total number of accused, 58 are Hindus and 13 are Muslims." So it may well be that Tara Shadeo was duped and tortured by her Muslim husband, but none of it is definitive evidence of a broader ’extremist’ conspiracy to lure and convert Hindu women. But will the facts matter when electoral stakes and communal tensions are running high?