'The moment they fall foul of the party in power, they become unsafe. Then nobody can guarantee their safety.'
Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi has defended the state government's use of bulldozers to demolish the homes of alleged anti-social elements, saying that only opposition parties are upset about the measure. He also vowed to take strict action against those involved in "love jihad", saying that they would be paraded on the streets. Sanghavi's comments come amid rising tensions over the issue of religious conversions in India.
Members of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union and the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment had disrupted the film's screening, alleging a hate campaign was being propagated in its guise.
In a statement filed in the court, Director General of Police Jacob Punnose said he could not come to "a definite all conclusive finding" due to divergence in contents of reports from SPs of different districts and subordinate officers on the organised work of the 'Love Jihad' in the state.
The aim is to ensure that such crimes are checked and effective action is taken against the culprits.
The man and the woman turned out to be both Muslims and adults. Kushinagar Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar Singh said someone from Gurnia village had informed them on Tuesday that a couple was getting 'quietly' married there, and suspected it to be a case of 'love jihad'.
The latest case of 'love jihad' concerns a Christian woman from Kochi, who left her husband and married the driver of a school bus. She was later arrested for allegedly supplying SIM cards to Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Thadiyantavide Nazir, who is currently in prison.
The Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar is divided over the party's controversial MP Yogi Adityanath's stand on 'Love-Jihad'.
The central government has no plans to enact an anti-conversion law to curb interfaith marriages, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
It directed the probe agency to furnish the report to it after completing the investigation.
Welcoming the Allahabad high court ruling declaring that conversion for the sole purpose of marriage is not valid, the chief minister also said posters would be put up of those involved in 'love jihad', a derogatory coinage referring to the alleged campaign of Muslims forcing Hindu girls to convert in the guise of love.
The state cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had earlier this week approved the draft ordinance to curb forcible or "dishonest" religious conversions including those for the sake of marriage, which could land violators in jail for up to 10 years.
'Any kind of political activity is not on our agenda.'
Terming Bharatiya Janata Party as the "most cunning" party, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday accused it of trying to divide the country by talking about 'love jihad'.
The SC said that it would examine the question as to whether the Kerala high court can annul the marriage of a Muslim man with a Hindu woman.
"We are appalled to notice the recent trend in this state to sensationalise every case of inter-religious marriage as either 'love jihad' or 'ghar wapsi' even if there was platonic love between the spouses before," the court said.
In the wake of a raging controversy over the issue of 'love jihad' raised by right wing outfits, All India Muslim Personal Law Board has decided to remove misconceptions among people with regard to the subject besides concepts pertaining to the Islamic law.
The killer has been arrested.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday promised 10-year punishment and Rs 1 lakh fine for those indulging in love jihad if it returns to power in Uttar Pradesh.
Here is the chronology of events of the case.
The Kerala High Court on Monday expressed dissatisfaction over the state director general of police's report on 'Love Jihad', where girls from other religious background are allegedly lured to marriage and converted to Islam, even as the Karnataka government ordered a CID probe into such incidents.
At its heart, the furore over 'love jihad' reveals an anxiety over the increase in inter-religious marriages and women's freedom, says Charu Gupta, associate professor of history at Delhi University, whose areas of research include the colonial history of Uttar Pradesh and issues of gender and sexuality.
The woman said she is an adult and married the man a few months ago of her free will. It was not immediately known whether she also changed her religion.
The eight-page report filed in the high court was in response to a case in which family members of a girl alleged that she had been forcibly converted by a Muslim youth.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has strongly criticised Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane for calling Kerala a "mini Pakistan", saying the remark is "highly provocative and condemnable". Vijayan said Rane's comments expose the Sangh Parivar's approach towards Kerala, which he said involves alienating and spreading hate campaigns against the state. He also criticised the leadership of the ruling party for not reacting to Rane's "serious breach of oath". Vijayan called for all democratic and secular forces to unite against the Sangh Parivar's "hateful propaganda".
Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said they were investigating how Raigar got access to a mobile phone inside the jail.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde refused, however, to stay the controversial provisions of the laws and issued notices to both state governments on two different petitions.
The focus on non-issues like 'love jihad' has dragged radicals like Vijaykant Chauhan from the fringes to the mainstream in Uttar Pradesh
A United States-based interfaith couple of Indian origin was forced to cancel their wedding reception in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh following 'threats of protests' by rightwing organisations, officials said on Monday.
Adityanath alleged that illegal mining, including rampant extraction of sand, coal and forest resources, was flourishing under the protection of the ruling coalition, leaving Jharkhand hollowed out by mafia activities.
The pleas, filed by advocate Vishal Thakre and others and an NGO 'Citizens for Justice and Peace', have challenged the Constitutional validity of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020 and the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act, 2018 which regulate religious conversions of interfaith marriages.
'Whom do I want to marry and what decisions I make for marrying the person I love are totally personal decisions, in which neither the State nor the courts have any right to interfere.'
The Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Monday passed a bill that penalises religious conversion through marriage or any other fraudulent means and provides for a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
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.
The president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, Mahant Ravindra Puri, has demanded the evacuation of mosques built on ancient temples across India. Puri, who is also the president of the Mansa Devi Temple Trust in Haridwar, claims that around 80% of mosques in India are built on temples and that their domes resemble those of temples. He has appealed to Muslims to hand over such structures to Hindus and has called for the formation of a "Sanatan Board" to protect Hindu religious institutions. Puri also denied banning Muslims from attending the Maha Kumbh Mela, saying that they are welcome to visit and learn about Hinduism.
The police on Saturday arrested a man after he allegedly tried to manhandle Union minister Giriraj Singh in Bihar's Begusarai, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader's Lok Sabha constituency.
Principal Kannan said no special treatment will be accorded to Hadiya at the hostel.
A case of assault and threatening to murder has been registered against the parents of the 22-year-old girl who was at the centre of the 'love jihad' controversy and has gone back on her statement that she was gang-raped and forcibly converted.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a scathing attack on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, alleging that the latter purposely keeps mum on the tragic death of his mother and sister in an attack by Razakars in order to avoid losing Muslim votes. Adityanath claimed that Kharge's village, Varawatti, was burned down by Razakars and that his mother, aunt, and sister died in the attacks. He accused Kharge of suppressing this painful personal memory for political expediency and for fear of losing Muslim votes. Adityanath also alleged that Congress ignores historical atrocities for the sake of vote bank politics and conveniently forgets the history of the Razakars.
The goings-on at the three-day Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh conclave, which is being attended by 390 delegates, are shrouded in secrecy.