Home Ministry Reject's Kerala Church Body's Claim, Says No Case Of 'Love Jihad' In The State

Nearly two weeks after the Syro-Malabar Church, the largest Christian body in Kerala triggered a controversy after it expressed concern 'Love Jihad' in the state, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that there were no such cases in the state.

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Responding to questions about whether the central government is aware of the observation of Kerala High Court that there is no case of love jihad in Kerala, MoS Home G Kishan Reddy told the house in a written reply that Love Jihad is not defined under the extant laws and no such cases have been reported by any central agency.

¡°The term ¡®Love Jihad¡¯ is not defined under the extant laws. No such case of ¡®Love Jihad¡¯ has been reported by any of the central agencies. However, two cases from Kerala involving interfaith marriages have been investigated by the NIA,¡± said the reply.

Recently, the Syro-Malabar Church Synod (meeting of the bishops of the Church) had claimed that incidents of so-called "love jihad" are increasing in Kerala and they pose a danger to the secular harmony and social peace of the state.

It also alleged that Christian girls were being lured using Love Jihad and are recruited to ISIS.

"It's a matter of fact that planned 'love jihad' is happening, targeting Christian girls. According to what police have said among the 21 who went to ISIS half of them were Christian converts it is a serious matter that many who are not in the records are being converted and used for terrorist activities," read a press release from the media wing of the Syro-Malabar Synod.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had welcomed the Church statement and called for a united fight against ¡®Love Jihad¡¯ in Kerala Society.

Kerala has a long history of 'love jihad', a term coined by the rightwing to refer to interfaith marriages involving Muslim boys and girls from other faiths.

The most high profile of them being the case of Hadiya, a Hindu girl, whose original name was Akhila Ashokan. In 2016, the medical student had converted to Islam and married a Muslim youth called Shafeen Jahan.

Her father Ashokan had approached the court claiming that his daughter was a victim of love jihad and that Shafeen had terrorist links. Though the Kerala High Court had annulled the marriage, in 2017 the Supreme Court overturned the verdict.

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Despite the NIA and various courts stating that there is no evidence for 'love jihad' it has been regularly used by the right wing, including some top BJP leaders to vilify the Muslim community.

The MHA's admission on Love Jihad comes weeks after the MHA, responding to an RTI query, said it has "no information" concerning the 'Tukde Tukde Gang' -- a term that has been used a number of times by PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to attack opponents.

The RTI application was filed by activist Saket Gokhle on December 26 last year. In his RTI application, Saket Gokhle said Home Minister "Amit Shah addressed a public event in New Delhi, and in his address said, 'The Tukde Tukde Gang of Delhi needs to be taught a lesson and punished'." Gokhle's RTI asked for details of the 'Tukde Tukde Gang'.

The home ministry, in its reply to Saket Gokhle's RTI application, said, "Ministry of Home Affairs has no information concerning tukde-tukde gang."