Second Indian state steps closer to enacting "Love Jihad" law
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[December 29, 2020]
By Saurabh Sharma
LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - Lawmakers in a
central Indian state controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu
nationalist party approved legislation on Tuesday that would make
pressuring a woman to convert to their husband's religion a crime
punishable with imprisonment.
Although no religion is specified in the legislation, critics say it is
aimed against the country's Muslim minority. Hardline Hindu groups have
accused Muslim men of waging a campaign, dubbed a "Love Jihad", to lure
Hindu women to Islam with promises of marriage.
The Freedom of Religion Bill, 2020 will be enacted in Madhya Pradesh
once it receives approval from the state's governor, a leader in Modi's
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"This law will prevent innocent girls being forcefully converted on
pretext of marriage," said Narottam Mishra, home minister in the state's
BJP-led government.
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Virtually identical legislation was passed last month in neighbouring
Uttar Pradesh, a northern state also controlled by the BJP. Thirty
Muslim men were arrested there earlier this month under the new law for
allegedly compelling women to change their religion after getting
married.
Other Indian states - Haryana, Karnataka and Assam - have said that they
are planning to bring in similar anti-conversion laws.
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![](../images/122920PIX/news_a53.jpg)
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh state,
speaks during a news conference in Bhopal, India, July 7, 2015.
REUTERS/Raj Patidar
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Under the new law, a man and woman belonging to different religions
will have to give at least two months notice to the district
magistrate before they get married and they will be given permission
if there are no objections.
Politicians in Madhya Pradesh have also campaigned for years against
Christian missionaries, accusing them of offering financial aid and
free education to persuade people to convert to Christianity.
(Writing by Rupam Jain, Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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