The trailer of The Kerala Story 2 has triggered widespread conversation with its intense and controversial messaging of religious conversion. Read reactions and key takeaways from the debate.
The trailer of the film, produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and directed by Kamakhya Narain Singh, released on Tuesday and landed straight into controversy. It tracks the stories of three Hindu women from three different states going against their families to marry Muslim men and then being forced to convert.
The upcoming Hindi film 'The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond' is embroiled in controversy, similar to its predecessor, with accusations of hate propaganda and defenses of legitimate concern over religious conversion.
A 30-year-old Dalit woman was stabbed to death in Uttara Kannada, allegedly by a man known to her. The accused was later found dead. The incident has sparked tension, with Hindu outfits alleging 'love jihad'.
A Pakistani Hindu woman and her minor daughter have been reportedly kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Pakistan's Sindh province, sparking fear of forced conversion.
The Opposition in Maharashtra boycotted the government's customary tea party on the eve of the Winter session, citing its failure to appoint leaders of the opposition (LoPs) in both houses of the state legislature.
A BJP leader in Uttar Pradesh has sparked controversy by suggesting that Muslim men cover themselves with tarpaulins to avoid being sprinkled with colors on Holi. The remarks, made by Raghuraj Singh, come days after a police officer in Sambhal made similar comments. The festival of Holi coincides with the second Friday of the month of Ramzan this year, leading to concerns about potential clashes. The controversy has fueled tensions between Hindu and Muslim communities in the state, highlighting the sensitive nature of religious festivals in India.
Anwar Qadri, a Congress councillor in Indore, India, has been removed from his position due to allegations of funding 'love jihad'. This action follows his arrest and accusations of providing funds to lure women into converting to Islam. The move has sparked political controversy, with the Congress party facing criticism and the BJP accused of engaging in communal politics.
Gujarat police rescued a 20-year-old woman from Assam, allegedly trapped in a 'love jihad' scheme. The woman was lured by an Assamese man and taken to Assam without her family's knowledge. Police tracked them down and reunited the woman with her family.
About nine months ago, the man, whose real name she later discovered was Bakhtawar, took her to Mandanpur Shumali village under the Baheri police station area in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly.
One person was injured on Friday during the Rath Yatra procession in Ahmedabad, when a male elephant, agitated by excessive noise, broke a barricade and rushed into a narrow lane, officials said.
The committee includes secretaries of the women and child welfare, minority affairs, law and judiciary, social justice and special assistance departments, and deputy secretaries of the home department.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the argument that a three-judge bench, rather than a two-judge bench, should hear appeals of convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case. The court found that the Gujarat High Court commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment, therefore not requiring a three-judge bench. The hearing of the appeals will continue on Wednesday, with the state government seeking restoration of the death sentences of 11 convicts.
George stated that a girl should be married off by the time she is 22 or 23 and that such decency should be maintained.
Razvi continued, urging young Muslim people to avoid participating in New Year celebrations, stressing that Muslims should instead focus on religious practices that align with their faith.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused Opposition parties of trying to divide society, drawing a parallel between the violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh and historical events in Ayodhya and Sambhal. He criticized those who indulge in caste-based politics and said they are responsible for the current situation. Adityanath's comments come amid widespread violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh following the toppling of the Sheikh Hasina government.
The Supreme Court of India granted bail to eight convicts in the 1987 Hashimpura massacre case. The case involved the killing of 38 people by personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary. The court considered the fact that the convicts have been incarcerated for over six years following the Delhi High Court's reversal of their acquittal by the trial court.
'Congress gave Muslim conservatism support and here the BJP saw a window of opportunity'
The bodies of Rajasthan's Bharatpur-based men, who were abducted, were found inside a vehicle in Haryana's Bhiwani district on February 16. The families of the deceased alleged that they were beaten and murdered by members of the Bajrang Dal.
Two men were found charred to death in a car in Haryana's Bhiwani district Thursday after they were allegedly abducted from Bharatpur district in Rajasthan by men said to be cow vigilantes.
Local people prevented the police from reaching the site immediately after the blast and it could have been done to shield the accused, said Thakur's lawyer, advocate JP Mishra.
Ghaziabad Police on Thursday arrested a doctor, who married a colleague at an Arya Samaj temple six years ago after the woman's family claimed that he 'converted' to Hinduism just to 'deceive' her.
Addressing a public event in Kolhapur city on Monday evening, Fadnavis pointed out instances wherein women were tricked into inter-faith marriage and subsequently abandoned after they gave birth to children.
'This is not about Hindu-Muslim. Why should I go to vandals?'
The term 'love jihad' is used by right-wing groups to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.
Pakistan wanted to be constitutionally communal, India wanted to be secular but is communalising itself. All three nations share a penal code, but they have amended their laws to enable the State to specifically target minorities, points out Aakar Patel.
Shops owned by Muslims were shut for half a day in solidarity with the family of Hiremath and to condemn the dastardly act that shook the twin city of Hubballi-Dharwad.
The incident took place on Sunday afternoon when the male student was accompanying two female students on the campus of the state-run Savitribai Phule Pune University, an official from Chatushringi police station said.
In a video clip that had gone viral on social media, Faizan, along with four other Muslim men, was seen being beaten up by policemen while being forced to sing the national anthem and 'Vande Mataram'.
"Crores of Muslim women had always demanded that triple talaq should be banned, as it is also banned in Islamic countries," he said.
Crucial reforms in Muslim personal law, especially laws related to inheritance and adoption, need to be initiated forthwith; historically speaking, without the State's backing, hardly has any reform taken place or allowed to prevail, asserts Mohammad Sajjad.
'Who has seen what Sharia is? Who knows what actual Sharia is?'
'Episodes of targeted attacks on Muslims established that for a section of people and, sadly, even officials of the State, the election results conveyed no lessons.' 'Opposition parties must not be hesitant in speaking out whenever the mob with tacit State support targets Muslims,' asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked various state governments to apprise it in six weeks on the action taken in incidents of mob lynching and cow vigilantism.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com does a deep dive into four elections when Narendra Modi resorted to anti-Muslim fervour and points out that Hindu-Muslim politics does not necessarily mean victory for the BJP.
The complaint mentions the last scene of the film which shows a temple priest's daughter, played by Nayanthara, offering namaz wearing 'hijab' before making biryani.
WhatsApp hoax triggers lynching of two others in Maharashtra's Aurangabad.
The woman has lodged a complaint in Damoh on Thursday evening against one Omar Farooq and a police team from Damoh is leaving for Karnataka immediately to probe the case, MP home minister Narottam Mishra told reporters in Bhopal.
NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad said that the number of 'love jihad' cases cited by Lodha two days ago was factually incorrect and that there have been nearly 3,000 cases of interfaith marriages.
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