LUCKNOW: The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has issued a law that provides a prison term of up to 10 years for anyone found guilty of using marriage to force someone to change religion.
The decree in the most populous state follows a campaign by ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against interfaith marriages. The party describes such marriages as “love jihad”, a conspiracy theory used Hindu far-right groups to accuse Muslim men of converting Hindu women by marriage.
Under the decree, a couple belonging to two different religions will have to give two month notice to a district magistrate before getting married. The couple will be allowed to marry only if the official finds no objections.
The ordinance came on a day a court in Uttar Pradesh hearing a case of interfaith marriage said that Interference in a personal relationship would constitute a serious encroachment into the right to freedom of choice of the two individuals.
The court verdict came after a Muslim man was accused of forcibly converting his Hindu partner. The court said it does not see Priyanka Kharwar and Salamat Ansari as Hindu and Muslim, rather as two grownup individuals are living together for over a year over their own free will and choice.
It said the courts are enjoined to uphold the life and liberty of an individual guaranteed under the Constitution of India. Uttar Pradesh is the first state in the country to bring in such a law and comes after a campaign by hardline Hindu groups against interfaith marriages.
Earlier, Chief Minister Uttar Pradesh Yogi Aditynatah, who is known for his anti-Muslim hate speech, said at a public meeting that those waging “love jihad” should either refrain from it or be prepared to die.
Hindu hardline groups have long accused minority Muslims of taking over the country by persuading Hindu women to marry them and convert to Islam.
India’s investigating agencies and courts have rejected the “love jihad” theory seen as part of an anti-Muslim agenda by Modi’s party. Hindu hardline groups also oppose conversions to Christianity and have promised to continue trying to prevent interfaith relationships.
