India
Updated : Dec 02, 2014, 10:35 AM IST
Amidst controversy regarding media reports of BJP taking up the issue of 'Love Jihad' in a formal manner, the party for now has decided to go slow. But different right wing organisations perceived to be close to BJP are taking up the agenda. Interestingly, the activity of all these frontal organisations have started from communally sensitive Western Uttar Pradesh.
Various Sangh Parivar-linked organisations, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Hindu Jagran Manch, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha have joined hands to form first such organisation in Meerut called Meerut Bachao Manch. Meerut was recently in news for allegation by a former madrasa teacher of forced conversion and gang-rape earlier this month. While the details regarding the case still remains debatable, the newly formed organisation has already started their work in Meerut. They have organised a peace march and submitted memorandum to local district administration to take prompt action.
According to media sources, such organisation which will look to stop force conversion will also be set up in Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Bareilly, Bulandshahr, Saharanpur and Baghpat districts. Depending on response, RSS plans to open many such fronts which will provide 'support' to locals to stop 'love-jihad'. According to VHP spokesperson Surendra Kumar Jain, 'love jihad' can lead to another partition of India!'
As of now, the umbrella organisation of RSS is looking to create awareness about this issue. For this, they plan to organise open debates around college campuses from Mid September. ABVP will play a crucial role in roping in the youth to brief them about 'love jihad'. VHP currently runs a Hindu helpline, which reportedly has 'saved' thousands of girls. There are other splinter organisations also involved in parallel activity, but now the plan is to bring them under a common banner.
Dharma Jagran Manch, recently started a similar campaign to appeal to Hindus to curb the practice of ‘love jihad’. But they according to media reports so far have only converted Muslim and Christian families to Hindusim. According to many experts. these attempts are perceived to "test water" before the issue is formally taken up by BJP before assembly elections begin in Uttar Pradesh.