Term Love Jihad coined to disturb Hindu-Muslim unity: Darul Uloom
According to the vice-chancellor of this famous Sunni seminary, the term 'love jihad' has been coined to disturb Hindu-Muslim unity and it is a conspiracy to marginalise the Muslims in India.
No matter what certain organisations allege, Deoband's Darul Uloom doesn't accept that there is anything called 'love jihad'. According to the vice-chancellor of this famous Sunni seminary, the term 'love jihad' has been coined to disturb Hindu-Muslim unity and it is a conspiracy to marginalise the Muslims in India.
"There is no such word as 'love jihad' in Islam. It has been coined by a handful of fanatics to create a split in the Hindu-Muslim unity," said Darul Uloom's vice-chancellor Maulana Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani.
Both the RSS and BJP have been alleging for some time that Muslim youths are luring Hindu girls with meticulous planning and then forcing them to convert to Islam. However, without mentioning RSS or BJP Nomani said those who have been raising this issue must understand the meaning of "jihad".
"A fight against the evil is called 'jihad'. But some people are using this to disturb communal harmony in the country for political gains. Linking such negative ideas with Islam is against the betterment of the country. Islam doesn't identify anything called 'love jihad'," the vice-chancellor added.
But a new organisation, Vande Mataram Mission, in Saharanpur where Darul Uloom is located, said they have confirmed information that Muslim youths have been luring Hindu girls in the guise of Hindus. The members of the Mission also distributed pamphlets in Saharanpur to alert the Hindu girls.
"They smear sandal paste on their foreheads, tie sacred threads on their wrists and identify themselves by Hindu names. They trap the girls and then force them to convert to Islam. There are many examples of such conspiracy in the country," said Mission's founder Vijay Kant Chauhan who reportedly owes allegiance to right-wing outfits.
Meanwhile, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the BJP reiterated that 'love jihad' was going on in the country. "Such jihadis are funded by the neighbouring countries," said Anandmayi Puri, a leader of BJP Mahila Morcha. VHP joint generalsecretary Vinayak Rao Deshpande said it was going on for the last one decade. "Ten years ago, we had rescued 250 Hindu girls of Gujarat who were victims of love jihad and rehabilitated them," he claimed.
Khaps wade into troubled UP waters
The entry of khaps in the deadlock over the denial of passage by Muslim villagers has further complicated matters in riot-hit Malikpura and Kawal villages. On Monday, several panchayats were held in Kawal, Jangeri and Malikpura villages on the call of Tisanga Bawana Manch, an umbrella organisation of 52 khaps in western Uttar Pradesh.
"The district administration has asked the family of Gaurav and Sachin to hand it a list of guests attending the programme in Malikpura. The road to Malikpura goes through Kawal. The Kawal villagers had announced that they would not allow us to pass through their village on August 28. But we will neither listen to them nor to the administration," Chaudhary Udham Singh of Tisanga Bawana Manch said.
"We have held several panchayats in the last 24 hours and reached the conclusion that we will not listen to those who are against our participation in the event marking the death anniversary of the two Jat youths," he added.
Cousins Gaurav and Sachin Singh were lynched by a mob on August 28, 2013. The cousins had beaten to death Shahnawaz Quershi of Kawal as he used to molest their sisters.
Widowed last year, Swati has decided to send her two-year-old son to attend the death anniversary of his father Sachin in Malikpura. "The child along with his maternal uncle Dhanseth Singh will visit Malikpura on August 28 to attend the programme," she said.
"The administration asked me to provide it a list of family members attending the programme. But I have decided not to respond to the request...," Gaurav's father Ravindra Singh claimed.
Badaun case probe stuck
Having little circumstantial evidence even after a probe of two-and-a-halfmonth, the CBI may not file chargesheet against the three siblings and two police constables who were arrested after the hanging of two teenaged cousins from Badaun's Katra Sadatganj. They were found hanging to a tree on May 27.
The police had arrested three rogue brothers of the village-Pappu Yadav, Avadhesh Yadav and Urvesh Yadav-on the charges of allegedly gangrape and murder of the girls and two constables, Chhatrapal Singh and Sarvesh Yadav, for keeping the family members in dark.
The CBI had conducted lie-detector test on these five accused and four members of the victim's family. But the agency found that although the accused has replied conclusively to every question of the investigators, the victims' family members were not able to make coherence in their replies. Even the DNA test of the victims and the accused couldn't help the agency much.
"This may be the reason that the CBI finds itself incapable to prepare a chargesheet...," said a police officer on condition of anonymity.