The Yogi Adityanath administration in Uttar Pradesh has come under fire ever since it has implemented the anti-conversion law in the state. The law, that intends to curb forced conversion and ‘love jihad,’ is highly being seen as a law targeting the Muslim section of the society and barring Muslim men from marrying Hindu women.
While the law states that conversion, just for the sake of marriage is illegal and a punishable offense, the critics, on the other hand, quote how the constitution of India promises everyone the fundamental right to change their religion for whatever reason they please.
Noting the same, as many as 104 ex-IAS officers have written to Yogi Adityanath calling the laws unconstitutional. Officers further add that the implementations of the same have transformed the state into “the epicentre of politics of hate, division and bigotry.”
The officers further go on to bash on the politicians and CMs and pointed out the need for them to “re-educate yourselves about the Constitution which you… have sworn to uphold”.
“… UP, once known as the cradle of the Ganga-Jamuna civilisation, has become the epicentre of the politics of hate, division and bigotry, and institutions of governance are now steeped in communal poison,” the letter said.
“… a series of heinous atrocities committed by your administration against young Indians across Uttar Pradesh… Indians who are simply seeking to live their lives as free citizens of a free country.”
The law, over the weeks, has been misused by the ‘thekedars‘ of religion to please their ill and flawed ideology. In one recent horrific incident, not the police, but members of BJP-associated Bajrang Dal dragged a Muslim man to the police station and accused him of ‘love jihad’ even when the woman didn’t resonate with Dal’s allegations.
During the same incident, the woman suffered a miscarriage as the vigilantes harassed and interrogated the innocent couple.
Moroever, ever since the implementation of the law, cases have been reported where the Muslim men have been locked up in jails by the police despite no complaints or relevant evidence against them.
“Around 11.30 pm some people caught hold of us – the villagers beat us up. They accused us of theft. They caught one boy, I don’t know who he was, and they caught me. I did not know who the boy was. It is not true that he was trying to convert me,” a girl said in a brief interview to NDTV quoting an incident where a boy was taken to the police station where a case of “love jihad” was filed against him.
The saddest part is the fact that such laws exist even when courts have ruled out that choosing one’s life partner is their fundamental right. Weeks ago, the Allahabad High Court, while hearing a case, reunited an interfaith couple underlining that the woman and man, accused of love jihad, are adults and have the “right to live life on their terms”.
Surely the draconian law is unconstitutional and goes against the secular nature of the country and thus must go. Because, if not, then it would be a shame for us to live with the irony that an unmarried man is here to tell us who to marry.
