By Adv Masood Peshimam
Love is an English word and jihad is an Arabic word meaning the struggle or striving or to control over the self. The other concept of jehad is identified with the holy war.With the alteration of socio- political compulsions the concepts like Jehad,dharm yuddh and crusade have been rendered obsolete and irrelevant.
The contemporary political culture has no space whatsoever with the content and substance of the religious war more so in India where the greater multi faith interaction and enhanced social mingling have failed the divisive politics of the religious hotheads with the strength of the political power to the greater extent.
However the political dispensation in U P under the rabid communalism of Adityanath Yogi is bent upon stoking the rabid communal fire by the fictious reference of the Muslim boys luring the Hindu girls as part of the conspiracy to expand the Muslim population in India which doesn’t deserve to earn any seriousness. Yogi went to the extent of telling that those indulging in love jihad would experience the fate of Ram nam satya hae. Such vocabulary is an affront to the norms of the civilised behaviour. Yogi with fanning religious hatred is square peg in the round hole and not fit to be the U P C M.The fact remains that the rapid evolution of love is based on sex,attraction,passion,understanding,matching of temperament,instinct,identical interest and the host of other factors largely excluding conspiracy. The culture of love can’t be accommodated with the concept of jihad in the aggressive sense as it is interpreted.
Even the U P police has contradicted the theory of conspiracy after the thorough inquiry and investigation. The much publised love jehad concept is missing the essence of reality. Every individual has the right to choose the partner of his or her choice. Allahabad High Court advancing the logic of freedom of choice with the bench of justice Pankaj Naqvi and justice Vivek Agarwal observed that the right to choose a partner irrespective of caste,creed or religion is intrinsic to the Constitutional right of life and personal liberty adding that the two previous judgements that objected to religious conversion did not lay down good laws.
The judges further held that any interference in personal relationship would constitute serious encroachment on the freedom of choice. The judges observed ” An individual on attaining majority is staturioly conferred the right to choose a partner which if denied would affect his or her human right to life and liberty,guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. ” In the similar version an eminent advocate of Bombay High Court Abhinav Chandrachud in Indian Express dated 3 12 20 wrote, ” Love Jehad in the state by criminalizing among other things , marriage carried out solely for the purpose of conversion.
However the ordinance , as it is presently drafted ,dangerously imperils the freedom of conscience and the right to profess , practice and propagate religion under Article 25 of the Constitution. Mr Chndrachud further said ” Perhaps the most stringent provision of the ordinance is the burden of proof. Ordinarily , when some one makes an allegation that something has happened it is up to him or her to prove it. The burden of proof in the criminal cases is on the prosecution and the presumption is that a person accused of committing an offence is innocent until proven guilty.
The Uttar Pradesh ordinance turns this rule on it’s head’ .Advocate Abu Zaid Iraqi desires the U P ordinance to be judicially challenged. Yogi Adityanath quoted the previous Allahabad High Court judgements which are struck down by the latest judgement with the bench of justice Pankaj Naqvi and justice Vivek Agarwal. Yogi Adityanath said that the religious conversion for the sake of marriage is illegal. When the marriage is lawful and legal how can the conversion be illegal. Yogi said that conversions were carried out with deceit and force.However the figures quoted by the U P police are absolutely negligible. Yogi is in the shelter of manufactured scenario of love jehad is pursuing the communal agenda shifting his focus from the essential functioning of the government. The propaganda like love jehad is oriented to incite hatred against Muslims in India. Muslims are already bearing the brunt of the denial of service and business opportunities in the prejudiced environment and the vicious campaign like love jehad would further victimze them.
The sustained campaign of polarisation and divisive politics played by the likes of Yogi would only deepen the fragmentation in Indian society.Throwing light on UP ordinance banning the religious conversion for the sake of marriage the last sentence of The editorial of Times of India dated 4 12 20 is quoted which said ” With individual liberties at stake as trial courts start hearing cases stemming from the new law ,Allahabad HC or Supreme Court must examine the ordinance’s constitutionality without delay.