Love Jihad

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Love Jihad
Date
Late 2000s – present
Location
Also known as
Romeo Jihad, Love Jehad
Target
Muslim men, interfaith couples
First reported
2007–2009
Outcome

Love Jihad (also known as Romeo Jihad) is a term used to describe an alleged campaign by Muslim men to target non-Muslim women, particularly Hindu women, for conversion to Islam through seduction, feigned love, deception, or marriage.[1][2] The concept is described as a conspiracy theory by international bodies and media outlets.[3][4] It has been used by Hindu nationalist organisations and has been the subject of significant political and legal debate in India, particularly since the late 2000s.[5][6]

The term "Love Jihad" first emerged as a concept in 2007, used by members of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS), a Hindu nationalist organisation, while opposing interfaith couples in public spaces in Karnataka.[2] The phrase gained wider prominence in 2009 during a court case in Kerala involving two non-Muslim girls who had eloped with their Muslim boyfriends. While hearing bail petitions, the presiding judge ordered a police investigation into what was termed the "Romeo Jihad/Love Jihad movement," marking the first legal mention of the term.[1] A subsequent police inquiry found no evidence supporting the existence of such a movement.[7]

Origin and History

The phrase "Love Jihad" appeared first as a conspiracy theory in 2009 by the Sanatan Prabhat and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and was later picked up by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad.[8] The term gained national attention in 2009 when the Karnataka High Court directed police to investigate allegations of "love jihad" related to an interfaith marriage case. Following a thorough investigation, the police concluded that "there seems to be no prima facie evidence of 'love jihad'".[7]

In 2009, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council also played a role in amplifying the term, claiming that up to 4,500 women had been "conned into converting."[1]

Legal Framework

In November 2020, Uttar Pradesh became the first Indian state to enact a law against "forced" or "fraudulent" religious conversions, commonly referred to as the "Love Jihad law."[9] The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, was promulgated with the approval of the Governor. According to the ordinance, a marriage would be declared null and void if a woman converts into another religion solely for the purpose of marriage.[9]

The law was enacted in the backdrop of a concerted campaign by the Bharatiya Janata Party against "love jihad."[5] However, the actual law made no reference to "love jihad" and was neutral in its scope.[10] In 2021, while responding to Public Interest Litigations challenging the constitutional validity of its unlawful conversion law, the Uttar Pradesh government stressed that nowhere in the draft of the law had the term "love jihad" been employed.[10]

In 2024, the Uttar Pradesh government introduced the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which proposed life imprisonment and fines up to ₹10 lakh for those found guilty of coercing religious conversions.[11][12] The amendment also increased penalties for mass conversions to 7-14 years of imprisonment and a minimum fine of ₹1 lakh.[11]

In Karnataka, the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022, received the Governor's assent in September 2022.[13] The law prohibits conversion "from one religion to another by use or practice of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage".[14] Converting a minor, woman, or an SC/ST person attracts a jail term of 3-10 years.[14]

As of January 2023, a total of 11 out of 28 Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, have enacted anti-conversion laws.[1] These laws could render interfaith marriages, allegedly entered into for the sole purpose of conversion, null and void, carrying penalties of up to 5-10 years in prison.[1]

Major Cases

Hadiya Case (2017-2018)

The Hadiya case, also known as the Akhila Asokan case, became the most prominent legal battle associated with the "love jihad" controversy. Akhila, a Hindu homeopathy student from Kerala, converted to Islam and adopted the name Hadiya. She married Shafin Jahan, a Muslim man, in December 2016.[15] Her father, K.M. Asokan, filed a petition in the Kerala High Court alleging that his daughter had been coerced into converting and that her marriage was a case of "love jihad." The Kerala High Court annulled the marriage in May 2017, ordering Hadiya to return to her parents' custody.[16]

Shafin Jahan challenged the High Court's decision in the Supreme Court. In August 2017, the Supreme Court ordered an NIA probe into the case to determine whether it was part of a larger "love jihad" conspiracy.[15] The NIA submitted a 100-page report, and in October 2018, it concluded that there was no evidence of coercion or a coordinated conspiracy.[17]

In March 2018, the Supreme Court restored Hadiya's marriage, affirming her right to choose her religion and spouse. The court held that "a person's right to choose a religion and marry is an intrinsic part of her meaningful existence."[16]

Karnataka Case (2009)

In 2009, the Karnataka High Court directed the state police to investigate allegations of "love jihad" in connection with an interfaith marriage case involving Silja Raj, a Hindu girl from Chamarajnagar, and a Muslim boy named Ashkar.[7] Silja's father, C. Selvaraj, alleged that his daughter was a victim of "love jihad" and that Hindu girls were being lured by Muslim youth and "brainwashed and indoctrinated" into converting to Islam.[7]

The police investigation concluded that there was no "Love Jihad" angle in the case and that Silja had gone with Ashkar of her own will.[7] The report also stated that "there is no specific instance of converted women being used for Jihad or any anti-national activity."[7]

Uttar Pradesh Cases (2025)

In recent years, the "love jihad" narrative in Uttar Pradesh has expanded to include cases where Muslim women and their male relatives have been accused of luring Hindu men to convert to Islam through the promise of marriage. In February 2025, police in Fatehpur's Malwan lodged a criminal case against a Muslim man, Taufeeq, his father Hakim Shah, their relative Imtiyaz, and a local cleric for allegedly converting a Hindu boy to Islam and trying to get him married to Taufeeq's sister.[5] In another case in Bijnor, police arrested a Muslim girl, Sayma, her parents, a cleric, and a madrasa operator for allegedly converting a Hindu boy to Islam through the allurement of marriage.[5]

Criticism and Impact

In December 2025, the NBDSA ordered five television news channels—India TV, News18 MP Chhattisgarh, Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh, Zee News, and ABP News—to take down broadcasts in which they claimed that NCERT textbooks were promoting "Love Jihad."[18] The controversy had erupted from a letter printed in an outdated Class III EVS NCERT book in a chapter called 'Chitti Aayi Hai' (letter has arrived), in which a woman named Reena was shown to have written a letter addressed to a man named Ahmed.[18] The NBDSA noted that the programme structures "showed a lack of objectivity" and directed the broadcasters to take down the videos within seven days.[18]

Demographic data from the Pew Research Center contradicts the premise of "love jihad." According to Pew, India's religious composition has remained stable since independence. Between 1951 and 2011, the Hindu population went from 84.1 per cent to 79.8 per cent, while the Muslim population only grew by 4.4 per cent from 9.8 per cent to 14.2 per cent.[19] A comprehensive survey by the Pew Research Center found that religious conversion in India is extremely rare and largely balanced across communities.[20] Only 0.4 per cent of Indians said they were raised Hindu but now identify as Christian, while 0.1 per cent reported switching from Christianity to Hinduism.[20] According to the Pew Report, 99 per cent of married people in India share the same religion as their spouse.[21]

International Perspective

The "love jihad" conspiracy theory has been compared to similar Islamophobic narratives in other countries. In Myanmar and Thailand, Buddhist nationalist groups have used similar rhetoric to claim that "love jihad" is a tool for Islamisation through mixed marriages.[22] The concept has also been linked to contemporary white nationalist conspiracy theories and Western Islamophobia, featuring Orientalist portrayals of Muslim men as barbaric and hypersexual, and carrying paternalistic and patriarchal notions that Hindu women are passive and victimised.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Love Jihad Conspiracy Theory" (PDF). Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Roots And Evolution Of The Myth Of 'Love Jihad' In Kerala". Outlook India. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  3. ↑ "Legislation as Disinformation: The Love Jihad Conspiracy Theory in Law and Lived Experience". Social and Legal Studies. 28 April 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  4. ↑ "Ismat Ara on India's Crackdown on Love". The Diplomat. 28 September 2026. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "UP: 'Love Jihad' Conspiracy Takes on New Colour as Muslim Women Now Painted as the Villains". The Wire. 11 March 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  6. ↑ "India Cracks Down on Hindu-Muslim Couples Under "Love Jihad" Laws". The Revealer. 6 November 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 "HC rules out Love Jihad". The Hindu. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  8. ↑ "Assam CM Says Law Against 'Love Jihad' Will Have Provisions to Arrest Parents of Male Accused". The Wire. 26 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Uttar Pradesh Governor Gives Assent to 'Love Jihad' Ordinance". The Wire. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Courting Controversy: With Use of Legally-Undefined 'Love Jihad', Bareilly Judge Reproduced BJP's Views". The Wire. 9 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Uttar Pradesh Tightens Anti-Conversion Law Amidst Controversy". PPI News Agency. 31 August 2026. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  12. ↑ "Now lifer for 'Love Jihad' and 'Paper Leak' in UP". UNI India. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  13. ↑ "Mangaluru 'Love Jihad' allegation: Woman left home voluntarily, say police". The News Minute. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Anti-conversion ordinance becomes law in Karnataka as Governor gives nod". Deccan Herald. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named SCC
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named SCO
  17. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named WireNIA
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Zee, ABP, News 18, India TV face NBDSA flak for 'Love Jihad' spin to NCERT text book lesson". Alt News. 8 December 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  19. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named FII
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Delhi Police debunks woman's viral 'religious conversion' claim". National Herald. 26 March 2026. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  21. ↑ "'The Kerala Story': How an Indian film ignited violence against Muslims and challenges to interfaith marriage". The Conversation. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  22. ↑ "Love Jihad: Loving for Religion". Republic World. 10 September 2026. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  23. ↑ "Love jihad conspiracy theory". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2 October 2026.

Further reading

  • Dalwai, Sameena (2023). Love Jihad: A Feminist Retelling. Penguin Random House.
  • Ara, Ismat (2024). Under a Saffron Sky: Inside India's Crackdown on Love.
  • Jenkins, Laura D.; Sharma, Yash (2024). "Legislation as Disinformation: The Love Jihad Conspiracy Theory in Law and Lived Experience". Social & Legal Studies. 33 (5).
  • Siddiqui, Mohammad Amaan (2025). "Framing 'love jihad': nationalists' discourse construction in a right-wing extremist sub-issue on social media". Third World Quarterly. 46 (6): 645–664.
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