Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath threatened those engaging in “love jihad” with the Hindu funeral chant of “ram naam satya hai” on October 31, 2020 during a campaign rally for the upcoming by-elections.

Communal propaganda has once again gained visibility in Uttar Pradesh, a state that will have by-polls in eight assembly seats on November 3. Last week, a right-wing Hindutva group’s IT cell dug out old videos and branded them as incidents of communal violence just before the Bihar election. Then, on Saturday, Chief Minister Yogi cited an Allahabad High Court verdict that said religious conversion is not necessary for marriage.

"The government will work to curb 'love jihad'. We will make a law. I warn those who conceal their identity and play with our sisters' respect. If you don't mend your ways, ‘Ram naam satya’ journey will begin," he said.

However, in making the near-explicit threat, Yogi forgot to mention the fact that Indian judiciary does not recognise the term ‘love jihad’ a concept introduced by divisive forces in society who frequently invest in the Hindu-Muslim divide especially around political events. He also did not mention that the verdict passed on September 23 talked about a Muslim woman who converted to Hinduism to marry a Hindu man. The court said it could not allow the conversion simply on grounds of marriage and advised the couple to approach the concerned magistrate to record their statement.

‘Love jihad’ refers to allegedly forced religious conversion of Hindu women to Islam under the guise of a marriage. In February, the Indian government told Parliament that ‘love jihad’ has no definition under existing laws. Accordingly, no such cases were registered by central agencies.

The state government faced heavy, if not aggressive, criticism for its lack of apathy towards crimes against women. Most notably, the Adityanath-government was denounced in nation-wide protests for the administration’s dubious actions in the Hathras case where a Dalit woman was sexually assaulted by a group of upper-caste men.

Ironically, the Chief Minister continued to talk about his plans for ‘Mission Shakti’ programme to ensure the security of “all sisters and daughters” but did not mention the caste-related violence against women.

On October 29, the Uttar Pradesh Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) released an analysis report of 87 of the 88 contesting candidates out of which one candidate declared a rape case against himself. In September, two Dalit women were sexually harassed.

Despite these incidents, it is concerning that the Chief Minister chose to speak about divisive politics rather than pressing issues of the state.

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