Polarisation: Why love jihad will remain a burning issue in Jharkhand

By Jai Deo

Ranchi: The BJP might have dropped loved jihad from its political resolution in Uttar Pradesh, but other Sangh Parivar affiliates are going full swing elsewhere to use it as a propaganda tool for communal polarisation. In Jharkhand, several right wing groups have picked up the cudgels for Tara Shahdeo, a national gold medallist in shooting, who has accused her husband of forced conversion. With elections in the state not far off, their interest in the case is seen to be guided by a political motive too.

Tara has accused one Ranjit Kumar Kohli of marrying her under Hindu rituals and later forcing her for conversion to Islam. Giving a communal colour to what should be a matrimonial dispute follows a pattern of actions that has been put into effective use by the Sangh Parivar elements in other poll-bound states already. The BJP has not made it a full-fledged political issue yet but others have started preparing the ground for it. The VHP has expressed solidarity with her and demanded a CBI investigation into the ‘racket’ active in conversion of Hindu girls into Islam through marriage.

VHP state general secretary Ganga Prasad Yadav said: “Tara Shahdeo case is the second case of love jihad reported recently in Jharkhand. Two months ago a similar case was reported in Jamshedpur. We have requested the home minister to intervene into the matter and save the Hindus.” The VHP state unit has already shot off a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking his intervention. Several right wing organisations called for Ranchi bandh on Monday and carried out widespread rampage to demonstrate angst.

Sanjay Seth, convener of Namomanta, an organisation floated just before Lok Sabha election, has advised all women feeling cheated by their husbands on the matter of conversion to be in touch with the organisation. “We shall keep the identity hidden and work for their rescue from these jihadiats who have used the sacred platform of marriage for conversions,” he said. The political overtone in this ‘outrage’ over conversions is hard to miss. Former Jharkhand Speaker and Ranchi MLA CP Singh staged a dharna before Kotwali police station on Monday demanding the release of all VHP supporters arrested for vandalism during Ranchi bandh and other BJP leaders have been supportive of the actions of the Sangh outfits in a calculated way.

This time a lot is at stake in Jharkhand for the BJP. It has set for itself an ambitious target of 51+ seats in a house of 81. In the assembly election of 2009, the BJP and JMM had won 18 seats each and the Congress 13. RJD and JD(U) had won 5 and 2 seats respectively. In the parliamentary polls held earlier this year the party bagged 12 of the 14 seats here, a remarkable performance. This, however, was attributed the Narendra Modi wave blowing across the country at that point. With indication from across the country that the wave has subsided, the party has to fight it out on its own strength now. Obviously, it does not want to take chances. Being a national party ruling at the Centre it cannot resort to open polarisation on communal lines. The Sangh Parivar outfits fit in here.

Coming back to the case, the facts of it are still mired in confusion. It has come to light that the father of Kohli alias Raqibul Hasan Khan was a Hindu and he is still alive. While the police have filed cases under Section 498A, 295A and 34 of the IPC, relating to dowry atrocities and hurting of religious sentiments, against the accused it is not yet known when did he convert to Islam or the conversion was effort was just a domestic matter or part of an organised racket. Whatever the truth, the case is likely to be exploited to the hilt for political reasons.

A similar strategy in western UP yielded rich electoral dividend for them recently and with the political rivals still in a quandary on how to tackle what is basically a propaganda tactic catering to the emotions of people, the party is not going to dump it anytime soon. Moreover, the Sangh Parvar outfits are already active in the tribal areas of the state and they are well-entrenched among people. It requires only an emotive issue to convert all that into votes.