Tensions ade believed to have escalated as the two groups started throwing stones at each other, leading to the parked trains getting damaged, the newspaper quoted police officials as saying.

According to officials, members of both communities had gathered at the railway station after learning that the couple was present there.

The state police also said the girl is a minor from Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun. According to The New Indian Express, she is from the Muslim community. “A missing report had been filed in Badaun for the girl,” said Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Singh.

The SP added that the government railway police were informed of the girl’s location and provided her details.

“Meanwhile, the matter escalated somehow and both Hindu and Muslim organisations confronted each other,” said Singh.

Though the situation is now under control, a heavy police presence has been deployed in the area, said the senior superintendent of police.

Senior police officials, meanwhile, have said that cases will be registered against those involved in the violence and a thorough investigation will be conducted.

The police are also reviewing CCTV footage to identify those responsible for the violence, reported the media.

Related:

Interfaith couple assaulted in Karnataka, woman gang raped

M’tra Govt’s move to set up “Commission” on inter-caste, interfaith marriages strongly opposed by women’s groups, Opposition

Hyderabad: Interfaith couple attacked, man stabbed to death!

The post Inter-Community clashes erupt at Dehradun railway station after interfaith couple meets appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“My daughter was going to get married to a Muslim youth. Keeping in view the happiness and future of the children, both families had decided to get them married, for which the cards were also printed and shared. But after the invitation card for the wedding went viral on social media, many types of things came to the fore objecting to the wedding,” Benam told Hindustan Times.

The wedding has been called off for the time being until the controversy settles down.

Some right wing outfits in the area even burnt his effigy in protest. “We strongly oppose such a marriage,” the working president of district VHP Dipak Gaud had said, reported India Today. Protests were carried out by VHP as well as Bajrang Dal (Kotdwar).

“There are people of all kinds in this world. Some talked to me politely and others were harsh in their comments. But their anger is justified according to them, just like my love for my daughter is justified according to me… (The groom’s family) are good people, and neglecting them just because they are Muslim is not a good thing. Several people warned me against this marriage, saying this will put my political career in jeopardy. But I said that for me, my daughter’s happiness is important, and my political career is separate,” he said, as reported by Indian Express.

Uttarakhand BJP media in-charge Manveer Chauhan, when contacted by IE, said, “This is their personal matter and we will not interfere. However, BJP’s ideology is that if someone is involved in forced conversion or lures our daughters to convert them to make them terrorists, we are against that.”

Mohan Gowda, Karnataka Spokesperson, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti took to Twitter to express his views on this and said, “Uttarakhand Staunch BJP leader Mr. Yashpal Benam daughter is marrying a Muslim boy. Mr Benam is Chairman of Pauri Municipal Corporation. This is Because of Lack of Hindu Sansksar to daughters, jihadi are targeting BJP leaders’ daughters, wife’s (sic)”.

Benam said he does not care about such comments. He said the wedding is after the consent of both families and  in this day and age everybody is entitled to their own choice.

Related:

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Man chained to tree and tortured over 2 days over son’s marriage dies by suicide: MP

Noida cops suspended for inaction in 2 yr-old hate crime against elderly Muslim man

The post U’khand: BJP leader calls off daughter’s wedding to Muslim man after backlash appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“Where society is cut asunder, marriage as a binding force becomes a matter of urgent necessity. The real remedy for breaking caste is intermarriage. Nothing else will serve as the solvent of caste,” Dr. B. R. Ambedkar wrote this in his speech ‘Annihilation of caste’.

For better or worse, these words by Ambedkar remain relevant in 2022, albeit the forms of these “intermarriages” are fast overlapping.

At the start of this year on January 22, an interfaith couple got married near Hyderabad. The husband Billipuram Nagaraju intended to convert to Islam as a way of convincing wife Syed Sultana’s family. However, this was not to be as in May the media reported how Nagaraju was allegedly killed by the family. The case was called an instance on honour killing wherein a Dalit man was murdered by the Muslim wife’s family.

The case became more gruesome as media reports (acknowledged even by the National Human Rights Commission) called the husband a Dalit. The victim of the brutal murder, 25-year-old B Nagaraju had married 23-year-old AshrinSulthana a.k.a. Pallavi on January 22 this year, after having known each other for years, stated news reports.

While the incident led to many heated discussions on whether Sultana’s brother allegedly killed Nagaraju due to his caste or religion, the incident also raises the question of whether caste does influence an interfaith marriage more than faith does.

Role of caste in interfaith unions

When asked her views on the issue, Muslim feminist writer Ghazala Wahabagreed that the two social elements of caste and faith hugely impact marriage. Further, she said a Dalit person is likely to be more at-risk of honour killings in such a situation particularly because of two layered aspects of Indian society.

“One is patriarchy. If you bring a woman from another background, the girl will convert her caste/ religion. But if a woman marries someone independently, it shows a will to exercise her opinion. Families can’t accept this move. So, if a girl marries without permission, then the couple is in danger. And if the person is Dalit then that risk increases manifold because of the overall social vulnerabilities of caste,” she said.

Taking the example of the Hyderabad incident, she talks about how the woman later tried to dismiss the cause of the killing being entrenched in caste. However, Wahab stressed that the person’s caste and religion are still equally important, especially considering the boy was willing to convert.

“Mostly conversion settles the issue. But here even that did not placate the family. So, the problem must be the caste. The reason may be that Muslims do not like to accept or acknowledge the caste reality. Muslims caste system is not pronounced as compared to Hindus. But in marriage this is often seen (and opposed) because marriage is a rigid system.”

Dhanak of Humanity Co-Founder Asif Iqbal emphasised that caste has an even greater role after marriage. For nearly 17 years, the organisation has been working on helping couples overcome social barriers, be it relating to caste, faith, stigma related to the LGBTQIA+ community. During this time, they have helped many people ensure a civil marriage via the Special Marriages Act (SMA).

However, of the 400 runaway cases the organisation received directly annually, at least 32 percent involve inter-caste unions. The rest are only inter-faith marriages.The organisation ensures that those seeking help follow due procedure under the SMA in availing a marriage certificate. Further, members ask people to remain in contact with Dhanak after marriage to ensure the family remains safe.

However, more often than not, Iqbal said that inter-caste couples lose contact with the organisation after marriage. As an inter-caste marriage is eligible for a religious marriage, many couples opt for that rather than waiting for the longer administrative procedure.

This is a cause for concern because the issue of caste is much more prominent in post-marriage situations where families either oppose the union or accept the couple but ask about caste.

“After marriage, a fear for life remains in both situations. Honour killings are common in inter-caste marriages especially in rural areas where the practice is less permissible than inter-faith marriages,” he said.

Generally, the issue is also female-centric where a woman’s caste is more important than the man’s caste. In such situations, the husband also has to be proactive about the family’s enquiries, said Iqbal.

Reforms to protect SMA unions

Wahab pointed out that while there are already laws to protect inter-caste and inter-faith marriages, the SMA still requires reform in certain aspects. For example, under the SMA there is a public notice issuance that threatens people’s anonymity.“Majority SMA couples have run away from home. So their information being on the public domain puts them in more danger,” she said.

Wahab also pointed out how there are biases in both Hindu and Muslim communities that people should only marry within their religion. Due to this, when SMA is not feasible, couples try religious marriages and temporary conversion. This further complicates matters for the young couples, she said, with questions of who will convert.

Love is most important

Dalit feminist writer Urmila Pawar said that more than anything, what determines the impact of these social differences are the persons involved in the marriage.

“Love does not see caste. But we live in a jaati-pradhan country. To an extent, it is true that each caste has a unique behaviour lifestyle. The success of a marriage depends on their resolve as well. A subconscious bias is always there. But people have to move forward believing humanity is the dharma,” said Pawar.

She pointed out that there are many issues that people face in marriage other than caste. However, a person believing in such an “unnatural system” will not be able to sustain the marriage.

Regarding the idea that people consciously marry outside their community, Wahabdimissed it saying such a thinking would support love jihad.“People marry for love. There are many cases like Hyderabad. One thing to consider is whom you can access. Some ask why do Muslim girls marry inside the community. This is because Muslim boys can meet non-Muslims at work and colleges. Girl Muslims do not have this exposure. School education is lesser, college education is lesser. The same logic applies with Dalits as well,” she said.

Related:

Hyderabad: Interfaith couple attacked, man stabbed to death!
Sheath the swords, while there is still time!
Should Arya Samaj unions come under the Special Marriages Act?
Conversion will not change caste of a person: Madras HC

The post The interplay of caste and faith appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Madhya Pradesh Ulama Board has “decided” that Muslim parents will be the ones taking a call if their consenting adult sons or daughters can marry a non-Muslim partner. A “no interfaith nikah sans parents’ consent” order has reportedly been sent out by the Madhya Pradesh chapter of All India Ulama Board telling qazis to “solemnise interfaith marriages only after the consent of the couple’s parents”.

According to the board this step will “avoid any controversy after the nikah”. MP’s home minister Narottam Mishra has reportedly “welcomed it as a positive initiative”. A report in The Times of India quoted Ulama Board’s MP chapter president Qazi Syed Anas Ali Nadvi saying they had “written to all the qazis, appealing that they should avoid solemnising the nikah if an interfaith couple comes for marriage without the consent of their parents or only for the sake of religious conversion,” adding that “Islam doesn’t advocate changing religion for the sake of marriage, which also hurts the sentiments of parents of interfaith couples.” According to Nadvi “there is no such problem in big cities like Bhopal, but qazis in some smaller places may conduct such marriages. It should not happen. We want peace and harmony in society.” He did not tell the media if he had come across any such cases or allegations of marriage for the sake of conversion. However, the Ulama Board’s decision has made many in the right wing ecosystem happy. Even the Minister Mishra hailed it as “a good initiative. It will spread positivity in society. I hope everybody will pay heed to it.” 

Madhya Pradesh already has in place the Freedom of Religion Act, commonly known as the ‘Love Jihad’ law which provides for prison term of up to ten years and fine of Rs 1 lakh declaring forceful conversions for marriage ‘null and void’. This has replaced the Religious Freedom Act of 1968 in the state. The draft Dharma Swatantrya (Freedom of Religion) Bill, 2020 was tabled on December 26 that year. It was cleared in a special meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

While both the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh laws provide for a jail term of two to ten years in case a person being converted is a minor, Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, the latter imposes a stricter penalty of Rs. 50,000 against Uttar Pradesh that is capped at Rs.25,000. The fine for religious organisations or individuals seen as carrying out mass conversions is also higher in Madhya Pradesh, that lays down a whopping Rs.1 lakh penalty against Rs.50,000 in Uttar Pradesh. In both states, the priest who performs the conversion has been mandated to inform the District Magistrate 60 days prior to the date of conversion.

But the failure to do so, again attracts a greater penalty in Madhya Pradesh (three to five years of jail term and Rs.50,000 fine) than Uttar Pradesh (one to five years of jail term and Rs.25,000 fine).

Now, Syed Anas Ali Nadvi, the board’s president, has added fuel to the ongoing situation where it is the young interfaith couples who are at the receiving end of social hate, by saying that such marriages happening without the approval of parents was harming harmony. “A letter has been written in this regard to all the qazis to solemnise inter-religious weddings only in the presence of parents of couples,” he said, adding it is not permissible to get married without the consent and presence of the parents and that, “It is necessary that at the time of registering the marriages, the necessary documents should be checked for their authenticity.”

Nadvi told mediapersons that he was receiving complaints about secret marriages, which are unnecessarily creating tensions. “It is not right to change religion for marriage. It has come to our notice that people have changed their names according to Islam just for the purpose of registering the marriages but they are living with their old identities,” he was quoted by the Hindustan Times, adding that action will be taken against qazis who violate the order. According to the HT report, 

Ishrat Ali, a qazi in Indore, said they were not officiating inter-faith marriages since the enactment of the anti-conversion law in Madhya Pradesh but, “According to Islam, any adult man and woman can marry each other in the presence of two witnesses. The presence of parents is not necessary.”

Madhya Pradesh has often been in the news for vicious attacks carried out on Muslims, as well as Christians. Over a year ago, a conclave of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [RSS], held in MP discussed the war cry: “Chadar aur Father Mukt Bharat” (An India liberated from Chadar (Cloth Sheet symbolising Muslims) and Father (Christian Priests). The Dainik Bhaskar newspaper carrying out an extensive undercover investigation of the conclave had reported from Chitrakoot that this anti-Muslim, anti-Christian ‘campaign’ and slogan had been discussed, and was to be shared with the RSS cardes. Then, in 2021, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), had written to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), over attacks on Muslims in Madhya Pradesh since August. CJP’s prayer to the apex minority rights body was to conduct a full-fledged investigation into such incidents and also seek information about such attacks under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.

A year later, the hijab reached MP where on February 14, 2022 a mix of various right-wing Hindutva groups assembled outside an autonomous post graduate government college and harassed two hijab-wearing students. Members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and Durga Vahini recorded videos of two hijab-wearing students entering the college premises while taunting them for their “discipline”. The goons then proceeded to shout “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” and threatened aggressive protests if all students did not start wearing saffron outfits from the next day.

Recently, in an in depth discussion Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) co-founder, activist, educationist and journalist Teesta Setalvad and social scientist and activist Dr. Muniza Khan, discussed if the Hijab Ban was Identity politics or body policing? Setalvad contextualised the discussion on the ongoing crisis, that is yet another example of the “downturn of secularism is clearly visible in the State because of the ongoing spreading of hatred by the communal forces”.

It is also concerning how various organisations, recognising human rights or the rights of minority communities or the rights of women, feel that the right of choice has been misinterpreted by the religious patriarchal system. Dr. Khan, also called out the right-wing, conservative patriarchy that was alive within the Muslim community itself, particularly the men. She said that now only women are told “Hijab lo, cover karo, ghar se mat niklo,” but men are not told anything. According to Dr. Khan, when she read the Quran to learn about the rights of women in Islam, she found that most of the rights were already recognised in the holy book, but were not in practice and women were never informed about them. An example was found in “the 4th ayat which prohibits women in Islam to forgive or give up the right to meher (a sum set aside in case of a separation)”. Dr. Khan then said that dowry, something that is not a part of Islamic culture, is practised by manipulating tradition. She asked why it was not questioned by Muslim scholars? “Kaha jata hai ki jalana mana hai vaha par bride burning shuru hai!” (Translation: They say it a sin to burn, but bride burning is still going on)” said Dr. Khan and put the onus on the conservative Muslim leadership, often make, who claim that “Islam is in danger” whenever a Muslim woman asserts her right and her freedoms. She called this out as a “patriarchal controversy” to push women back where fundamentalists both Hindutva and Islamists, talk the same way as they do not want women to progress.

Related:

MP: Goons harass hijabi students, demand saffron dress code
Hijab Ban: Identity politics or body policing?
MP High Court warns state against “moral policing” in interfaith marriage where wife converted willingly
Why is Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra invoking UP’s Kairana? 
Hate Offender: Meet Kalicharan ‘Maharaj’ aka Abhijit Dhananjay Sarag
CJP moves NCM over hate crimes against Muslims in Madhya Pradesh
No Garba for non-Hindus: Right-wing in MP

The post No interfaith nikah sans parents’ consent: MP’s Ulama Board’s latest diktat appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court warned the police and the State against “moral policing” in a case of an interfaith couple where the wife had willingly converted to Islam and was detained illegally by her parents. The single bench of Justice Nandita Dubey cited the Constitution to hold that it “gives a right to every major citizen of this country to live her or his life as per her or his own wishes.”

The petitioner, Gulzar Khan filed the habeas corpus petition for his wife who he married legally and who willingly converted to Islam. Khan stated that his wife’s parents took her forcibly to Banaras and detained her there illegally.

The corpus or the petitioner’s 19-year-old wife told the court that she had willingly married the present petitioner and converted to Islam. She also made a categorical statement that she was never forced into conversion and whatever she has done was as per her own wishes. She further told the court that she was forcibly taken away by her parents and grandparents where she was beaten up and threatened constantly to give a statement against the petitioner. She expressed her wish to stay with the petitioner since she had willingly married him.

The State, one of the respondents in the case, raised an objection in view of section 3 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021 whereby any marriage performed in contravention of the same is deemed null and void.

Section 3 of the Act states as follows:

(1)    No person shall-

(a)    convert or attempt to convert either directly or otherwise any other person by use of misrepresentation, allurement, use of threat or force, undue influence, coercion or marriage or by any other fraudulent means;

(b)   abet or conspire such conversion

(2)    Any conversion in contravention of provision of this section shall be deemed null and void.

The court however observed that the petitioner and his wife (corpus) are both major and that “no moral policing can be allowed in such matters where the two major persons are willing to stay together whether by way of marriage or in a live-in relationship, when the party to that arrangement is doing it willingly and not forced into it.”

The court further noted that the “Constitution gives a right to every major citizen of this country to live her or his life as per her or his own wishes.” The court rejected the state’s submission that the corpus should be sent to Nari Niketan. The court, thus, directed that the corpus be handed over to the petitioner, the husband, and directed the state and the police to ensure that both reach their home safely.

The court disposed of the petition and ordered thus,

“Under the circumstances, counsel for the State and the police authorities, who have produced the corpus are directed to handover the corpus to the petitioner and to see that the petitioner and the corpus reached their house safely. The police authorities are also directed to see that in future also the corpus and the petitioner are not threatened by the parents of the corpus.”

The High Court’s judgement may be read here:

Madras HC on individual’s right to convert

The Madras High Court recently upheld an individual’s right to change religion as per volition. The court held that the Constitution grants an individual the fundamental right to freedom of conscience if they want to change their religion by their own choice. And giving examples such as A.R. Rahman (born as Dileep Kumar), Yuvan Shankar Raja, a son of T. Rajendar having converted to Islam, the Court emphasised that this choice of change of religion cannot be objected to. However, the Court mentioned caution as it said that the same cannot be a group agenda, saying:

“But religious conversions cannot be a group agenda. Our Constitution speaks of composite culture. This character has to be maintained. The clock of history can never be put back. But the status quo that obtains in the year 2022 as regards religious demographic profile may have to be maintained.”

CJP challenged MP Freedom of Religion Act

On February 17, 2021, a Supreme Court bench headed by then CJI SA Bobde admitted CJP’s amendment to its original petition to include the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Ordinance, 2020 and Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2019. CJP’s original petition had challenged the anti-conversion laws of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to be ultra vires of the Constitution on which the top court had issued a notice to the respective States on January 6, 2021.

All four laws have been challenged on grounds that it is discriminatory, anti-women, and contravenes the right to privacy and personal liberty of citizens by criminalising interfaith unions. Thus, CJP has prayed for the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act (2018), Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, Madhya Pradesh to Freedom of Religion Ordinance, 2020 and Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2019 to be declared anti-Constitutional and struck down.

The plea has raised issues of privacy, extra-Constitutional powers to police and non-state actors, violation of the non-negotiable tenets of secularism, equality and non-discrimination. All four laws are inherently anti-women, discriminate against women, leaving them with no agency over their decisions and life and therefore bad in law and substance. CJP has also argued that such laws are premised on “conspiracy theories” and assume that all conversions are being illegally forced upon individuals who may have attained the age of majority, throttling their personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Related:

Constitution grants individual right to change religion as per volition: Madras HC
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The post MP High Court warns state against “moral policing” in interfaith marriage where wife converted willingly appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held the marriage between a Hindu man and a Muslim woman to be invalid, as all wedding ceremonies and rites were in accordance with Hindu traditions without the woman converting to Hinduism before solemnisation.

The Single-judge Bench of Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi however held that since both were adults, they are entitled to stay together in a live-in-relationship in the nature of a marriage and are also entitled to protection of their life and liberty.  

The court was hearing the couple’s (petitioners) plea seeking protection after getting married on January 15 at Shiv Mandir, Village Durana, as per Hindu rites and ceremonies against the wishes of their family members. They sought necessary protection but submitted that no action has been taken so far in the matter and prayed for issuance of direction in this regard.

The court observed, “In the present case, petitioner No.1, who is Muslim, performed marriage with petitioner No.2 in accordance with Hindu rites and ceremonies, which will, prima facie, be not valid as admittedly petitioner No.1 did not convert to Hindu religion before solemnization of marriage in accordance with Hindu rites and ceremonies.”

The court added, “However, petitioner No.1 being major is entitled to live with a person and at a place of her choice and both the petitioners will be entitled to live in live-in-relationship in the nature of marriage and also to protection of their life and liberty.”

The court directed the Superintendent of Police, Ambala City to look into the couple’s grievances and take appropriate action for “protection of their life and liberty as may be warranted by the circumstances.”

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has been seized with many similar cases in the recent past. While dealing with a plea of two live-in partners, the High Court refused to grant them protection because their live-in relationship contract clearly mentioned that it was not a marital relationship. The Bench of Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan deemed the clause a “misuse of process of law as it cannot be morally accepted in society”, reported SabrangIndia.

Ironically, another Bench of the same court considered the large volume of petitions filed by couples apprehending threat to their life and liberty, and suggested that these matters be dealt with in a time bound manner. Justice Avneesh Jhinghan suggested that both states, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh should provide safe houses for inter-caste or inter-faith couples apprehending threat, so that they do not have to approach the court each time.

The order may be read here: 

Related:

Punjab and Haryana HC suggest safe houses for inter-caste couples

Punjab and Haryana HC refuses to grant protection to live-in couple

Major couple even if not of marriageable age can live together: Punjab and Haryana HC

The post Punjab & Haryana HC says interfaith marriage invalid as Muslim woman did not convert appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A young Hindu woman, who ‘dared’ to fall in love was killed, allegedly by her own family because her lover was from ‘another’ faith. This has been reported in the media as a suspected case of ‘honour killing’. According to news reports, the victim’s own family gruesomely killed her for falling in love with a man of whom they did not approve. So, they allegedly burnt the woman alive. The 28-year-old woman’s burnt body was discovered on February 4, stated news reports. It was reported that the woman had been killed the previous night.

On Monday, February 15, a police official quoted by the media, said, “The victim’s father Kailash Yadav, brother Ajit Yadav, brother-in-law Satyaprakash Yadav and one Sitaram Yadav were arrested on Sunday. A petrol container and motorcycle used in the crime have also been recovered by the police. A hunt is on to trace the contract killer”. According to multiple news reports, the victim was killed allegedly by her family in Sant Kabir Nagar district in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The man she was in a relationship with was said to be a Muslim, stated the police. 

Police say that the accused had hired “a contract killer for the murder”. According to the police, the ‘contract killer’ was identified as one, Varun Tiwari, who was paid Rs 1.5 lakh to kill the woman. Police officials reportedly said the family members have “confessed to the crime.”

According to the Superintendent of police (SP) of Sant Kabir Nagar, Kaustubh, the woman’s father, a retired armyman, reportedly said that his daughter was in a “relationship with a married Muslim man”. The woman had apparently “eloped on one occasion but returned and continued with the relationship despite the family’s objections,” her  father told the police, stated media reports. The accused rendered the woman unconscious, placed jute bags on her, poured petrol and set her on fire, the SP told the media details of the horrific crime.

SP Kaustubh also said that the “half-burnt body of a young woman was found at village Jigina under Dhanghata police station limit on February 4. With the help of local police, surveillance, CCTV footage, field unit and dog squad, the body was identified as that of Ranjana Yadav of Belghat area in Gorakhpur.” The victim’s father reportedly told the police that as his daughter “was not ready to leave her lover, he along with his son and son-in-law hired a contract killer from Mahuli to kill her.” 

Related:

Meerut: Goons thrash young Muslim girl who runs a tea shop

Disruptors threaten and abuse interfaith couples on Zoom press conference

The post Uttar Pradesh: Woman burnt alive by family over interfaith love appeared first on SabrangIndia.

An advocate, Mohammad Hashim Ansari assisted a young Hindu woman to voluntarily convert to Islam and marry a Muslim man in November. Now, he alleges that both he and  his family is facing harassment at the hands of Uttar Pradesh Police, as reported by The Wire.

Hashim Ansari helpedfile an affidavit for the woman to help her legally convert, which was later signed and attested by her declaring that she has consciously and voluntarily converted to Islam and is under no pressure. Ansari told The Wire that, “She was so interested in Islam that while doing the rituals in front of the Qazi, she wrote the kalima on her own, without any help or assistance from anybody else.”

Hashim Ansari also helped the couple with all legalities regarding their marriage and their affidavit reads, “I fell in love with one Mohd. Javed Ansari … whom I love from my heart.” She also wrote that she was getting married to him without any pressure, coercion or undue influence. She attested that she has converted to “Muslim religion…with my free will and consent without any force, pressure, coercion from any corner, and without consuming any intoxicating substance.”

Advocate Hashim’s kin including the male members of his family- father, father-in-law, brother, three brother-in laws, cousin, cousin’s friend were taken to undisclosed locations and held hostage over two days. He told The Wire, “They think that I am hiding the woman, and are telling me to produce her as if I know where she is.” The latest arrests – of his father and elder brother – happened today morning. (December 22).

Hashim could manage to have a word with his brother who told him that he was asked if he knows Hashim Ansari, and when he said that he did, he was held by the police. Later, he received a message from his brother-in-law saying, “We are being sent to jail. You please handover the Hindu girl to the police, otherwise we will be sent to jail by this evening.”

The couple who lived peacefully till December 17 after their wedding, also proved ephemeral as the groom’s sister-in-law was detained by the Police. The Bajrang Dal members, who have been pursuing the cause of “rescuing” girls from going astray, also forced the groom Javed’s relatives to shut their shops in Jalesar (Uttar Pradesh) due to fear.

On December 17, as the new bride’s father registered a case against his son-in-law at Jalesar police station under Section 366 (abduction of a woman for marriage) of the IPC, and sub clause 1 of sections 3 and 5 of the new Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, Hashim (through the woman), wrote an application to the SSP and the SHO Jalesar, saying that she has voluntarily married Javed and his family members should not be harassed because of this.

It reads, “My clientess is a major and educated lady and possesses sound mind and is not prone with any disease, and therefore, is competent to convey her life as per her choice and will and without any interruption from any side. It has come to the notice of my clientess by a reliable source that some miscreants from the RSS and Bajrang Dal are creating nuisance in Jalesar and they have closed the shops of relatives of husband of my clientess… that my clientess and her husband have not committed any offence and that our constitution gives us right and power and personal liberty to convey their life as per their choices and will.”

But the Police is determined to investigate as a case has been registered by the woman’s father. “Now it will be sorted out in court only”, said Krishan Pal Singh, SHO Jalesar police station. In the latest development, as The Wire has reported, the couple is missing. On December 21, Hashim tried to reconnect with them as their writ petition for protection was ready and needed their statements but has been unable to get in touch with them.

He said, “The girl kept telling me that she will be shot, or killed in some other way.” According to media reports, this was the tenth case registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police under the Ordinance and even a month has not passed since its promulgation. The Moradabad District Court recently released two Muslim brothers (Rashid Ali and Saleem) after having no material evidence on record to prosecute them. In the process of this traumatic experience, Pinki (Rashid’s 22-year-old wife) also suffered a miscarriage.

High Courts, the constitutional watchdogs

Courts, across the country have however been the saving grace in such volatile circumstances holding on to the constitutional values. A couple from Uttar Pradesh, who had moved the Delhi High Court sought and received protection fearing threats, intimidation and acute harassment at the hands of vigilante groups, vested interests and even the authorities.

The Bench of Justice Anu Malhotra was hearing a petition filed by a 21-year-old Hindu woman and a 25-year-old Muslim man from Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh who fled to Delhi apprehending embroilment in a false case. The court directed the State of Delhi to provide adequate protection to the couple and also provide a safe house to them with adequate arrangements for their accommodation. The order may be read at the end.

A two Judge Bench of Justices Sanjib Banerjee and Arijit Banerjee at the Calcutta High Court have also held that it “cannot intervene if an adult marries as per her choice and decides to convert and not return to her paternal house.” In this case, a 19-year-old girl married on her own volition and since the father’s suspicions could not be laid to rest, the girl was asked to record her statement before the senior-most Additional District Judge again. But her statement remained unchanged. The entire story may be read here.

The Allahabad High Court’s order too assumes relevance as it protected a man from arbitrary arrest under the new anti-conversion ordinance, significantly noting that the FIR against the man was registered on mere suspicion and that the woman was an adult who could make sound decisions about her own personal life. The court also upheld the Fundamental Right to Privacy and Freedom of Religion enshrined in the Constitution.   

The Delhi HC order may be read here:

Related:

Allahabad HC protects man booked under UP ‘love jihad’ law

They tortured me, gave me injections, I fear I have miscarried: Pinki, victim of anti ‘Love Jihad’ law

Cannot intervene if adult marries as per choice and converts: Cal HC

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The Calcutta High Court held that it cannot intervene if an adult marries as per her choice and decides to convert and not return to her paternal house. The two-judge bench of Justices Sanjib Banerjee and Arijit Banerjee passed an order dated December 21 while observing that a 19 year old girl married a person of her choice and does not want to return to her paternal home.

The father of the girl, the petitioner, had raised concerns that his daughter’s statement may not have been recorded in an atmosphere where she felt comfortable and hence, she was made to give her statement before the senior-most Additional District Judge and yet her statement remained the same. The court noted that the father still had his suspicions and hence ordered that the girl meets the Public Prosecutor in his chamber alone and directed the prosecutor to file a report before the court on December 24.

This statement made by the Calcutta High Court comes at a crucial time when courts are increasingly upholding an adult’s right to choose a partner for marriage irrespective of religion as also right of a person to convert even if it is solely for marriage. In both cases, it is a matter of choice and personal right. It appears that state legislatures are at loggerheads with their respective high courts in this matter. As Uttar Pradesh brought in the law against “forced religious conversion”, the Allahabad High Court upheld that “Right to live with a person of his/her choice irrespective of religion professed by them, is intrinsic to right to life and personal liberty. Interference in a personal relationship, would constitute a serious encroachment into the right to freedom of choice of the two individuals.”

Similarly, as Karnataka Assembly contemplates a law on similar lines as the UP law, the Karnataka High Court upheld the right of an adult to marry the person of his/her choice irrespective of caste or religion.

The Calcutta High Court order may be read here.

Related:

Love Jihad: Karnataka legislature vs. judiciary

UP Governor gives assent to anti-Love Jihad ordinance

Law against ‘Love Jihad’ or controlling our ‘individuality’

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