#dnaEdit: Offensive oxymoron

Love jihad. That particularly offensive oxymoron that seeks to put a communal stamp on not just Hindu girl-Muslim boy relationships but also individual acts of crime is the ominous buzzword of these polarised times. Not merely an ugly combination of words but a calibrated move to further deepen rifts that has been given a fillip by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders fanning the flames of distrust in volatile Uttar Pradesh.

The term, coined by Hindu groups for what they allege are cases of Muslim boys trapping Hindu girls and forcing them to convert, entered India’s communal lexicon several years ago. But it is back — and with more aggression than before, sending ripples of unrest across the state and beyond. 

The BJP’s state executive meeting in Mathura — which the party had hoped would be another Ayodhya for it with the Krishnajanmabhoomi movement in the 1990s — was the setting for state unit president Laxmikant Bajpayi to expound on his theory. Youth, he was quoted as telling the gathering at the two-day meeting over the weekend, should be “vigilant against love jihad”. He went on to ask if the youth of the minority community had a “licence to convert the girls of the majority community”. He also said 70 of 100 crimes in the state were against women and that “99.99 per cent” of the accused were Muslims.

Finally, the term ‘love jihad’ itself was dropped from the resolution, possibly following the furious debates that broke out. But the sentiment stayed with the resolution stating that “instances of misbehaviour with women of one section by men of one particular section, whether by coincidence or design, was a matter of concern”.

It is lost on nobody that by-elections to 12 assembly seats are due next month. Polarising the vote has worked well for the party, which won 71 Lok Sabha seats from the state.
But these are dangerous arguments in dangerous times. The gang-rape of a woman in Meerut who alleged that she had been abducted and forcibly converted to Islam earlier this month must, of course, be condemned as it was during the BJP’s meeting.

But giving it a communal colour can only lead to friction in a region akin to a tinderbox with life yet to get back to normal in places like Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur. The incident led to groups like the VHP and Bajrang Dal forming the ‘Hindu Bahu-Beti Bachao Sangharsh Samiti’. It also led to the formation of a ‘rakhi campaign’ to protect ‘Hindu sisters’.

The facts belie the mischievous claims. An NDTV analysis of police data revealed that only seven of 37 cases of rape in Meerut district from January to August this year involved accused from the minority community. Of the total accused, 58 were Hindus and 13 Muslims.

Can any society be divided such, excluding women of all communities except for one? As more than one concerned citizen has pointed out, treating incidents of individual crimes as crimes of a community will have disastrous consequences. Criminals belong to every community. The trauma of rape cannot be divided along lines of religion.

Truisms all. Obvious societal facts that need not be stated. But we have to. Because this talk comes not just from a radical fringe but from members of the country’s ruling party, including someone like Bajpayi who represents the party in India’s largest state. The onus is on the government to ensure that responsible behaviour not hate campaigns are the hallmark of its rule.