Law of Prejudice - Overreach, Paranoia
Recently, the ministers in Karnataka, after the Chief Ministers of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, are considering a law against “love jihad” which smacks of dangerous over-reach and a paranoia about inter-personal relations that has no place in a democracy.
Why India needs a law against Love Jihad?
- High number of love Jihad cases in India: The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), an RSS affiliate, also released a list of 170 so-called “love-jihad” cases that allegedly took place during the last 8-10 years.
- Love-jihad conspiracy to trap unsuspecting non-Muslim girls: There is widespread and overactive a network of love-jihad conspiracy to trap unsuspecting non-Muslim girls from Kerala to Jammu and Kashmir.
- The girls are not only forced to convert to Islam but also forced to live hellish lives.
- Apart from the incidents of human-trafficking to throw them into the prostitution trade and selling them, the incidents of forced sexual abuse by men and friends of the whole persecuting family also comes in the newspapers.
- Strong backing from International Terrorist Organisation to Love Jihadists: It has been alleged that organisations such as the PFI, SIMI, ISI are giving millions and crores of rupees as fees to big lawyers to stand up to plead for the lone-wolf love-jihadists.
- Prevalence of vote-bank politics in India: It has been argued that due to vote-bank politics or other vested interests, the secular fraternity in India openly supports the love jihadists without worrying about the future of the country.
Viewpoint of State Government on Law against Love Jihad
- Declaring religious conversion for marriage as null and void: The Uttar Pradesh has welcomed the Allahabad High Court ruling that declared the conversion for the sole purpose of marriage as null and void and called for firm hand in order to deal with Love Jihad.
- Mission Shakti Programme of Uttar Pradesh government: The state government has said that the posters of those involved in love jihad will be put on all road crossings while referring to the Mission Shakti programme.
- The state government is committed towards ensuring that every woman in the state is respected and can be self-reliant.
- The programme is meant to ensure the safety, security and honour of women, but if anyone still dares to indulge in any misadventure, the Operation Shakti is underway.
Concerns associated with Law against Love Jihad
- No basis of law against Love Jihad in the Constitution: The Constitution allows every citizen the freedom to marry any person a woman chooses and the liberty to follow any faith.
- The state has no right in policing the choices of a person.
- The legislative intervention in marriages involving consenting adults will be clearly unconstitutional.
- Lack of definition of Love Jihad in the existing central laws: The Union home ministry told Parliament that there was nothing called “love jihad” under the existing laws in the country and that the Constitution gave everyone the freedom to practise and propagate any religion.
- There is no legal sanction to self-serving and political terms such as ‘love jihad’ and there can be no legislation based on an extra-legal concept.
- Delegitimisation of inter-faith love and unions: The concept of Love Jihad has been used to delegitimise inter-faith love and unions, and pit Muslims and Hindus as others in a zero-sum game of demographic domination that has little correspondence with reality.
- Disservice to the constitutional responsibilities: By attempting to enshrine such toxic prejudice in law, the ministers of various state governments are doing disservice to their constitutional responsibilities.
- It does not square with their much-touted agenda of transforming their states into international hubs of education and business.
- The states weighed down by suspicion of inter-community relations are neither hospitable to either capital or talent nor the free exchange of ideas and people.
- Availability of laws against crime or tackle coercive conversion: There are enough laws on the statute book that are adequate to convict those accused of the crime or tackle coercive conversion.
- Hindu Women being the gullible victims: In the framing of the “love jihad”, such a law is exceptionally bad news for Indian women as Hindu women are only gullible victims, who have been made to stray away from the fold of their clan and community.
- Feeding the need of all patriarchal societies: It is an idea that feeds the need of all patriarchal societies to control “sisters and daughters” resulting in slavery of women and their sexuality.
Measures taken by government to prevent crime against women
- Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013: The Act was enacted for effective deterrence against sexual offences.
- The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018, was enacted to prescribe even more stringent penal provisions including death penalty for rape of a girl below the age of 12 years.
- Emergency Response Support System: The Emergency Response Support System provides a pan-India, single, internationally recognized number (112)-based system for all emergencies, with the computer-aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress.
- Cyber-crime portal: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched a cyber-crime portal for citizens to report obscene content.
- In 2018, the MHA has launched the 'National Database on Sexual Offenders' (NDSO) to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across the country by law enforcement agencies.
- Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences: It is an online analytic tool for police to monitor and track time-bound investigation in sexual assault cases in accordance with the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018.
- One Stop Centre (OSC) Scheme: It is exclusively designed to provide integrated services such as medical aid, police assistance, legal counselling/ court case management, psycho-social counselling and temporary shelter to women affected by violence under one roof.
Recommendations to ensure safety and security of women
- Infrastructural upgradation and modification: It is observed that it is imperative to provide clean, covered and safe bathrooms and toilets for women in and around public places like bus stands and railway stations.
- The street lighting has to be intensified throughout the city, especially in nooks and corners, suburban and rural areas.
- The concept of ‘eyes on the street’, as advocated by sociologists like Jacobs, is the only solution to lack of safety, rather than getting people off the streets.
- Adoption of suitable technology to ensure timely interventions: The innovative use of Information Technology in tools like Safety apps, connected to the control room with GPS is very essential to protect women.
- Introduction of women friendly public transport systems: The strengthening of the public transport system is a safety measure which is a multi-pronged approach and applies to autos, taxis, buses etc.
- All autos and taxis should have meters which are enabled with GPS and SOS buttonas in Chennai city.
- Strengthening of law and order system: The safety should be ensured within the police department from the lowest rungs in the ladder.
- The recruitment of more women in the police service is also a progressive step towards safety and empowerment.
- A women protection force from police department will be a progressive idea for law and order situation to improve women’s safety.
- Fostering support from the general public: The public support must be fostered by engaging them effectively across various levels and sections of the society including educational institutions, corporates, tourists and other stakeholders.
Road ahead
- The central government is prepared to make any law and create infrastructure to make women feel happy and safe.
- The track record of the current government during the last six years is the evidence about its conviction on women safety.
- The Centre is also supporting states and union territories in setting up or strengthening women help desks in police stations and strengthening anti-human trafficking units in all districts across the country.
- The criminal jurisprudence testifies that sexual violence is an act of power as much as it is a manifestation of a sexual desire and therefore all the rights of women’s rights have to be respected, protected and fulfilled such as right to property, right to health, education and life with dignity.
Next
previous
Latest News
General Studies