Mumbai: Maharashtra could be the next Indian state to have a legislation against ‘love jihad’.
The groundwork was set in motion on Friday when the state government formed a seven-member committee to examine the legal framework for a potential law against forced religious conversions and cases of ‘love jihad’.
The panel will be headed by the state’s top cop, DGP Sanjay Verma, and includes officials from Women & Child Welfare, Minority Affairs, Law & Judiciary, Social Justice, Special Assistance and Home Departments.
According to a Government Resolution (GR) issued on Friday evening, the committee will suggest measures to tackle complaints related to forced conversions and “love jihad”. It will also review existing laws in other states and recommend legal provisions.
Among Indian states which already have a law to deal with cases of ‘love jihad’ are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
The BJP-led Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra raised the issue of love jihad following the spine-chilling Shraddha Walkar case in 2022. The 27-year-old Shraddha was allegedly murdered and her body chopped into multiple pieces by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala.
The state government’s decision to set up the committee, however, has come under attack from the Opposition, with NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader Supriya Sule saying that to “marry or love is a personal choice.”
She urged the government to focus on real issues instead.
“Prime Minister Modi just returned from the US, and America has imposed new tariffs, which will impact our country. The government should pay attention to such matters and focus on the economic situation,” Sule said.
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi opined that the government was solely focused on harassing Muslims and spreading communalism. “They want to give freedom for live-in relationships, but if someone over 18 wants to have an interfaith marriage or convert, they have a problem with it. There is no such thing as love jihad,” Azmi said.
According to Congress’ Husain Dalwai, ‘love jihad’ is a myth s forced conversions do not happen. “Democracy allows everyone to follow any religion. Our country is secular, but some people want to destroy the fabric of our culture. Let them show how many cases of love jihad they have actually seen. These people want to bring Hitler’s culture into our country,” he remarked.
BJP MLA Mangal Lodha defended the state government’s move, claiming that ‘love jihad’ cases are increasing across the country.
