Assam CM says 'Jihad also when Hindu man marries girl by cheating'; backs Love Jihad Law

Propagating Assam's 'Love Jihad Law', Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday, said that the anti-conversion law will be applicable to Hindus as well as Muslims. Claiming that a 'Hindu boy lying to a Hindu girl' constituted as Jihad, he said that the law will be introduced soon in the Assam Assembly after the Cow protection Bill and two-child policy. Assam will be the latest BJP-ruled state to pass such an anti-conversion bill after UP, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat.

Assam CM: "Hindu boy also cannot lie to Hindu girl"

"We don't want to use the term 'Love Jihad' since we feel even a Hindu should not cheat a Hindu. It is not like, when a Muslim cheats a Hindu, it is 'Love Jihad'. According to me, it is also a 'Jihad' when a Hindu man marries a Hindu woman by cheating and misleading her," he said in Assamese at a press meet in Guwahati. He added, "We will bring a law, but it would not be like it will be against only Muslims. Our law will be equal in case of Hindus and Muslims".

Echoing RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Sarma said, "Hinduism is 5,000 to 6,000 years old. How can we leave Assamese from Hinduism? We all are children of Hindus. Even the Muslims in India were children of Hindus some generations ago. How will you leave Hinduism from Indian history? Doing so will mean disconnecting me from the soil where I was born". Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi had alleged that Assamese identity was being surrendered to the RSS ideology.

Sarma has already announced that his cabinet will create a new department to protect the culture and practices of people belonging to tribal and other indigenous communities. Sarma further elaborated that departmental heads will be entitled to give approval for projects worth Rs 2 crore and below, and a finance committee headed by the Chief Secretary for those between Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore, as per the cabinet's decision. The new department would ensure that the state's indigenous population gets to preserve their faith and traditions.

UP's 'Love Jihad' Law

While the law does not mention 'love Jihad' or defines the term, it makes forceful religious conversion, including through marriage, punishable with a jail term of 1-5 years with Rs 15,000 penalty. Moreover, if the woman is a minor or belongs to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, the jail term will be between 3-10 years and the penalty upto Rs 25,000. The law also punishes mass conversions with jail term is of 3-10 years and fine of Rs. 50,000 on the organisations conducting it. Within 1 month of passing the law in UP, 51 arrests and 14 cases were filed under the new 'Love Jihad law', leading to Opposition leaders allege that the law was aimed at 'persecuting Muslim men'. Following UP, Madhya Pradesh too passed such a law while Haryana, Karnataka, Assam and Gujarat - all BJP-ruled, have promised to pass a similar law. Love Jihad is a term referring to an alleged campaign by Muslim men to convert Hindu girls under the pretext of love.