Assam CM: “Love Jihad” exacerbates social tension and must be stopped

Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, has spoken out against “love jihad” and stated on Saturday that it must be stopped since it causes stress in society.

Sarma said he wishes to see peaceful coexistence between Hindus and Muslims in the state but that “Issues like jihad and forceful religious conversions create tensions” while addressing to media at Bongaigaon during a two-day convention of the state’s police superintendents.

According to him, the majority of ‘love jihad’ incidents involve the forcible removal of females, who are subsequently used as bargaining chips in blackmail through films of them.

We need to find out whether females are being forced to convert to other religions and being married against their will. We must include these unions in our inquiries,” he added.

A Hindu-Muslim marriage cannot be registered by a quazi (Muslim cleric). A Hindu priest cannot lawfully do the same either, similarly. If boys and girls of various faiths desire to be married, they should do so without converting, according to the Special Marriage Act.

He also urged parents to mentor their kids to prevent situations like “love jihad,” since females from both the Muslim and Hindu faiths find it difficult to integrate into society after being married to someone of a different religion due to cultural differences.

Sarma said that during the gathering, topics like as how to expand investigations into ‘love jihad’ instances were addressed.

The chief minister has urged the police to create a standard operating method for looking into ‘love-jihad’ incidents, which are the main reason for coercive religious conversions in the state.

According to Sarma, the triple murder in Golaghat on Monday—committed by a 25-year-old Muslim man who murdered his Hindu wife and her parents—was an instance of “love jihad.”

Right-wing organizations refer to a scheme by Muslim males to seduce Hindu women into marrying into their religion as “love jihad” in order to support their allegations.

He emphasized that the treaty covered this subject in great depth and that the second wave of enforcement against underage weddings would begin in September. Although child marriages have significantly decreased and are now rare in most areas, Sarma said that “our goal is to make it zero.”

“We want to completely outlaw both child marriage and polygamy in the state, and to that end, we’ll introduce a law that will enable the police to effectively address the threat.” We’ve committed to outlawing polygamy, and we’ll carry it out, he added.

According to him, new laws would be passed to address legacy concerns with some statutes that need to be abolished.

A four-member commission led by Justice (Retd) Rumi Phukan is evaluating the state legislature’s ability to pass a bill to outlaw polygamy in the state, according to Sarma. The group is expected to present its findings within 15 days.

According to Sarma, the National Crime Record Bureau statistics that will be revealed tomorrow will show a significant decrease in crime against women and children in the state.

The state will introduce a bill to end polygamy, and a committee will examine the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act, 1937 and Article 25 of the Constitution in relation to the Directive Principles of State Policy for a Uniform Civil Code, the chief minister had stated in May, when his government had completed two years in office.