Wed 25 November 2020:
India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party approved legislation in the country’s most populous state on Tuesday that means anyone who uses marriage to force someone to change religion will face a prison term of up to 10 years.
The decree for the state of Uttar Pradesh was passed on Tuesday and follows a campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against interfaith marriages.
The party describes such marriages as “love jihad”, an unproven conspiracy theory used by its leaders and Hindu far-right groups to accuse Muslim men of converting Hindu women by marriage.
Under the decree – which will become a law after its approval by the state’s governor, a formality – a couple belonging to two different religions will have to give two months’ notice to a district magistrate before getting married.
The couple will be allowed to marry only if the official finds no objections.
India’s investigating agencies and courts have, however, rejected the “love jihad” theory, which many see as part of an anti-Muslim agenda by Modi’s party.
India is a predominantly Hindu country, with Muslims making up about 14 percent of its more than 1.3 billion people.
Hindu hardline groups also oppose conversions to Christianity and have promised to continue trying to prevent interfaith relationships.
The new decree comes at a time when Indian politics are increasingly becoming religiously charged.
On Monday, police registered a case against two executives of online streaming service Netflix, after a leader of Modi’s party objected to scenes in the series, A Suitable Boy, in which a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy kiss against the backdrop of what appears to be a Hindu temple.
The police complaint was registered in Madhya Pradesh state for allegedly offending the religious sentiments of Hindus.
A Netflix India spokesperson declined to comment.
Hindus makes up 80% of India’s 1.3 billion population, while Muslims account for around 14%. Hardline groups have recently stepped up a campaign for a Hindu-first India.
In October, jewelry brand Tanishq dropped a television commercial featuring a Hindu-Muslim family celebrating a baby shower, after criticism from Hindu nationalists and the ruling BJP. They said the advertisement promoted “love jihad.”
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