@cobrapost editor on Love Jihad expose: right-wing groups reek of patriarchy
Vishakh Unnikrishnan @sparksofvishdom | 6 October 2015
Cobrapost has just published a report on the "bogey of Love Jihad". Based on a year-long investigation called Operation Juliet, it lays bare how the Sangh Parivar and its splinter groups "use violence, intimidation, emotional blackmail, duplicity and drugs to split up Hindu-Muslim married couples".
The report reveals a systematic effort, stretched from Meerut to Ernakulam through Mangalore, to use the "bogey of love jihad" to communally polarise voters during elections.
It describes counselling centres and "Hindu helplines" set up to "rescue" women who marry outside their religion.
Cobrapost even has RSS, VHP and BJP leaders on tape confessing to inciting violence against Muslims. They include Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and Sangeet Som who are accused of instigating Hindu rioters in Muzaffarnagar in 2013.
Catch spoke with Cobrapost Editor Aniruddha Bahal about the report and what impact it might have in these communally-charged times.
VU: For the investigation, your team visited Muzaffarnagar and Meerut in UP, Mangalore in Karnataka, Kasaragod and Ernakulam in Kerala, apart from Delhi. Why did you choose these areas?
AB: We got information about counselling centres for Hindu women being run there. Our reporters were present when the "counselling" was being done. The Indian Express had done a series of stories on this issue. There were also reports from the southern states about this. So we decided to investigate.
VU: Some leaders named in the report are already being investigated for inciting communal riots. Do you think these revelations will help in the probe against them?
AB: Those accused are BJP's Muzaffarnagar MP and Union minister Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and the party's MLA in UP Suresh Rana. There are many others. FIRs have already been filed against them. Now we have got their statements on camera, so I believe it'll help in the investigation and, hopefully, prosecution.
Photo: Anil Kumar Shakya/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
VU: The report only mentions that these groups also woo Muslim girls into marrying Hindus, but doesn't explain how.
AB: They were admitting to wooing Muslim women, apart from "rescuing" Hindu women from Muslim men. We didn't have any case study to elaborate on that.
VU: The report says Swayamsevaks and other Hindutva activists in police and among lawyers, and even a journalist, help these groups carry out their work. How exactly do they help them?
AB: Whenever a Hindu woman goes to register for a marriage with a Muslim or a Christian man, the lawyers tip off these groups. They also keep an eye on any impending marriage at the registrar's. These groups then get into the act of "rescuing" the woman by trying to stop the marriage or, if the marriage has already taken place, to force her out of it.
There was only this one case where we found a journalist was also complicit, but I wouldn't say this happens across the board. Some also become part of the entire process unwittingly.
VU: In the report, BJP's Suresh Rana speaks of Bajrang Dal's 'Beti Bachao, Bahu Lao' campaign. He explains how "you can mould a girl the way you want". There are several such statements. Does patriarchy play a major role in this enterprise?
AB: I believe the report not only shows the intent of these right-wing groups, but also sheds light on their patriarchal mindset. The report reflects their views on woman's rights and what according to them should be their place and role in our society.
So, apart from the fact that they have a notion about how the minorities in this country should be treated, the report also shows how these groups want the women to be treated.
The very fact that they don't accept a woman has an individual right to seek her own life partner reeks of patriarchy. Those involved in this thing want to impose their consciousness on women and decide whom they should consort with or whom they should spend their lives with.
Photo: Mujeeb Faruqui/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
VU: A lawyer with the VHP in Mangalore says in the report that it doesn't affect them which party is ruling the state. Why is that?
AB: It doesn't matter which party is in power because these groups evoke the religious sentiments of those in power, putting them in an awkward position. And if you look at the power structure today, it isn't surprising.
Mohandas Gandhi had said that though 'I believe cows should be protected, I should not impose my belief on someone else'. Today's politicians are more inclined to impose their thinking and beliefs on different communities.
VU: A person working at one of these counselling centres in Kerala says that though they have been successful in mobilising various communities against the Muslims, it's difficult to incite a riot in the state. Why do you think that is?
AB: It's a compliment to the state of Kerala. It also sheds light on the law and order situation in other states. If law and order is taken care of, it becomes difficult to incite riots. There are always gullible people out there and these right-wing groups will always try and incite them. It's after all the gullible mindsets of religious fanatics that right-wing groups thrive on.
Vishakh Unnikrishnan
Vishakh Unnikrishnan
@sparksofvishdom
A graduate of the Asian College of Journalism, Vishakh tracks stories on public policy,...
Vishakh Unnikrishnan @sparksofvishdom | 6 October 2015
Cobrapost has just published a report on the "bogey of Love Jihad". Based on a year-long investigation called Operation Juliet, it lays bare how the Sangh Parivar and its splinter groups "use violence, intimidation, emotional blackmail, duplicity and drugs to split up Hindu-Muslim married couples".
The report reveals a systematic effort, stretched from Meerut to Ernakulam through Mangalore, to use the "bogey of love jihad" to communally polarise voters during elections.
It describes counselling centres and "Hindu helplines" set up to "rescue" women who marry outside their religion.
Cobrapost even has RSS, VHP and BJP leaders on tape confessing to inciting violence against Muslims. They include Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and Sangeet Som who are accused of instigating Hindu rioters in Muzaffarnagar in 2013.
Catch spoke with Cobrapost Editor Aniruddha Bahal about the report and what impact it might have in these communally-charged times.
VU: For the investigation, your team visited Muzaffarnagar and Meerut in UP, Mangalore in Karnataka, Kasaragod and Ernakulam in Kerala, apart from Delhi. Why did you choose these areas?
AB: We got information about counselling centres for Hindu women being run there. Our reporters were present when the "counselling" was being done. The Indian Express had done a series of stories on this issue. There were also reports from the southern states about this. So we decided to investigate.
VU: Some leaders named in the report are already being investigated for inciting communal riots. Do you think these revelations will help in the probe against them?
AB: Those accused are BJP's Muzaffarnagar MP and Union minister Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and the party's MLA in UP Suresh Rana. There are many others. FIRs have already been filed against them. Now we have got their statements on camera, so I believe it'll help in the investigation and, hopefully, prosecution.
VU: The report only mentions that these groups also woo Muslim girls into marrying Hindus, but doesn't explain how.
AB: They were admitting to wooing Muslim women, apart from "rescuing" Hindu women from Muslim men. We didn't have any case study to elaborate on that.
VU: The report says Swayamsevaks and other Hindutva activists in police and among lawyers, and even a journalist, help these groups carry out their work. How exactly do they help them?
AB: Whenever a Hindu woman goes to register for a marriage with a Muslim or a Christian man, the lawyers tip off these groups. They also keep an eye on any impending marriage at the registrar's. These groups then get into the act of "rescuing" the woman by trying to stop the marriage or, if the marriage has already taken place, to force her out of it.
There was only this one case where we found a journalist was also complicit, but I wouldn't say this happens across the board. Some also become part of the entire process unwittingly.
VU: In the report, BJP's Suresh Rana speaks of Bajrang Dal's 'Beti Bachao, Bahu Lao' campaign. He explains how "you can mould a girl the way you want". There are several such statements. Does patriarchy play a major role in this enterprise?
AB: I believe the report not only shows the intent of these right-wing groups, but also sheds light on their patriarchal mindset. The report reflects their views on woman's rights and what according to them should be their place and role in our society.
So, apart from the fact that they have a notion about how the minorities in this country should be treated, the report also shows how these groups want the women to be treated.
The very fact that they don't accept a woman has an individual right to seek her own life partner reeks of patriarchy. Those involved in this thing want to impose their consciousness on women and decide whom they should consort with or whom they should spend their lives with.
VU: A lawyer with the VHP in Mangalore says in the report that it doesn't affect them which party is ruling the state. Why is that?
AB: It doesn't matter which party is in power because these groups evoke the religious sentiments of those in power, putting them in an awkward position. And if you look at the power structure today, it isn't surprising.
Mohandas Gandhi had said that though 'I believe cows should be protected, I should not impose my belief on someone else'. Today's politicians are more inclined to impose their thinking and beliefs on different communities.
VU: A person working at one of these counselling centres in Kerala says that though they have been successful in mobilising various communities against the Muslims, it's difficult to incite a riot in the state. Why do you think that is?
AB: It's a compliment to the state of Kerala. It also sheds light on the law and order situation in other states. If law and order is taken care of, it becomes difficult to incite riots. There are always gullible people out there and these right-wing groups will always try and incite them. It's after all the gullible mindsets of religious fanatics that right-wing groups thrive on.
Vishakh Unnikrishnan
Vishakh Unnikrishnan
@sparksofvishdom
A graduate of the Asian College of Journalism, Vishakh tracks stories on public policy,...
Source: catchnews
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