VHP steps up campaign against ‘love jihad’

Bhadrapad Krushnapaksha 13, Kaliyug Varsha 5116

Ahead of the festive season, the VHP has intensified its campaign against ‘love jihad’ in Gujarat, circulating two audio tapes in Vadodara and writing to the police chief of Narmada district asking him to prohibit Muslims from entering the garba grounds during the Navratri celebrations.

The two audio tapes, circulated on WhatsApp, warn Hindus against “love jihad”, with one of them targeting a Salman Khan film for which shooting has begun. In the film titled Bajrangi Bhaijaan, scheduled for release in 2015, Khan is paired opposite Kareena Kapoor.

Both the tapes have a young girl’s voice cautioning “true Hindus” to listen to a “serious issue”. While the VHP doesn’t claim to have created the Salman Khan tape, its leaders say it was recorded last week after it was announced that Bajrangi Bhaijaan will go to the floors on November 1. A VHP member said, “The audio was created to bring awareness among Hindus that such a sinister plan is being executed by the minority community to entice young Hindu girls who get smitten by the romanticism in such movies.”

The Salman Khan tape says his film will promote “love jihad”, and that “gupt sutra (secret sources)” reveal that Kapoor is playing a Brahmin girl who falls in love with a Muslim man played by Khan. The tape says that the director has equated the relationship to Ram and Sita’s — to encourage Hindu girls to have ties with Muslim boys — and has received money from Arab countries. It also questions the use of the word ‘Bajrangi’ in the title.

The other audio tape  goes on to talk about a “Wasim Akram”, “who had been using the name Daksh Sharma to lure Hindu girls”, and claims he was caught from Najibabad. It claims that Akram had confessed to his actions being part of “love jihad”. The headquarters of this “jihad”, the tape says, is in Dhaka, and in India, in Kerala.

While police in Najibabad, in UP’s Bijnor district, denied such a case, a youth called Was-im Ahmed was held in Delhi in August 2012 for harassing a girl. He had taken on the name Daksh Sharma. Wasim was he-ld on the complaint of the brother of the girl. In March 2013, the Delhi High Court quashed the case after both parties reached a compromise.

In a related move in Narmada district, the VHP has written a letter to the SP, seeking support in “ensuring that Hindu girls celebrating Navratri do not fall prey to love jihad”. It has asked the police to prohibit Muslims “from entering the garba grounds or watching the celebrations in the periphery”. The VHP letter demanded installation of additional CCTV cameras and “increased patrolling by the Anti-Romeo squad of the Narmada police to especially check hotels” and take action on those trying to “spread love jihad”.

When contacted, Narmada Deputy SP Manoharsinh Jadeja said, “We have accepted their demand for installation of CCTVs and intensifying the checking of hotels and guest houses in the district. I cannot confirm whether we have accepted their request to support their campaign against love jihad. We are not going on the basis of religion of a person. If there is any nuisance from any one, we will target that person.”

Ranjan Bhatt, the new BJP MP from Vadodara, and party MLA Rajendra Trivedi said they had not heard of the audio tapes. However, Bhatt said that while her party’s policy welcomes all communities to join the celebrations, the minority communities must ensure that no trouble is caused to “our young daughters”.

Source : Indian Express