Maharashtra diary: Why is Fadnavis harping on ‘love jihad’?

The term ‘love jihad’ has no official definition. In 2020, the government informed Parliament that no cases of ‘love jihad’ had been reported by central agencies. In the same year, a Special Investigation Team looking into alleged ‘love jihad’ cases in Kanpur found that three out of 14 couples were adults who had married by consent, while the boys in the remaining eleven couples were hiding their names, ages or religions.

An RTI response in Haryana revealed that in the past three years, only four cases of interfaith relationships were reported by parents.

Clearly, ‘Love Jihad,’ is no more than an illegal, unfounded and obnoxious term intended to target interfaith relationships. With very few proven instances of coercion, it hardly warrants a separate law. That hasn’t deterred several BJP-ruled states from introducing laws to address this so-called ‘problem’.

In Maharashtra, BJP leaders believe there are at least 100,000 such cases and have protested against what they describe as a societal threat, with support from RSS affiliates. Yet, there has been no serious inquiry into the accuracy or source of this claim, and confusion remains about what constitutes ‘Love Jihad’. For instance, do Muslim women marrying Hindu men of their own volition or Hindu women marrying  non-Indian Christian men qualify?

Despite the lack of clarity, the Maharashtra government, under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has formed a committee to study the issue and assess similar laws in other BJP states. While Fadnavis insisted that the government is not against interfaith marriages, he stated the state must intervene in cases of fraud, domestic abuse, abandonment or inheritance disputes.

The announcement came after Fadnavis and Maharashtra’s controversial DGP Rashmi Shukla met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, but the reasons behind the timing remain unclear.

Critics question whether this move is meant to divert attention from other significant issues, like financial mismanagement or fissures within the ruling coalition. That the politics of Hindutva thrives on divisive issues and keeping the communal cauldron boiling seems to be the sole justification for politicians, police and bureaucrats to waste their ‘valuable’ time.

The BJP had been vocal since the murder of Shraddha Walkar by her live-in partner Aftab Amin Poonawalla in 2022. As many as 40 rallies were held under the banner of the Sakal Hindu Samaj, demanding stricter laws. However, BJP Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha’s claim of over 100,000 ‘Love Jihad’ cases in Maharashtra remains unproven, and his figures on interfaith marriages unsubstantiated.

The proposed move to legislate against ‘Love Jihad’ has not found support from the ruling alliance’s partner, the NCP, nor from Union Minister Ramdas Athawale. The opposition sees it as an attempt to harass the Muslim community. The easiest way forward for Fadnavis would have been to copy one of the existing ‘laws’ passed by BJP governments in Gujarat, Rajasthan and elsewhere. Instead, he appears to be charting a different course, leaving many puzzled about his motivations.

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Eknath Shinde’s Hindutva Agenda

On 15 February, 2025, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the Haji Malang Dargah in Kalyan (on the outskirts of Mumbai), where he offered a saffron chadar inscribed with ‘Om’ and performed aarti. His band of followers, wearing saffron scarves chanted, ‘Ek hi naara, ek his naam: Jai Shri Ram, Jai Shri Ram’. Hindu devotional bhajans were sung and the video duly went viral.  

Shinde has been visiting the dargah for years, vowing to ‘liberate’ it, despite the fact that the site is believed to be the tomb of Haji Abdul Rahman, a Sufi saint. Shinde claims the tomb belongs to Machhindranath, a Hindu figure, and believes the dargah was originally a Hindu temple.

Shinde’s visit attracted more attention last year before the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, as critics accused him of trying to stir up a Ram Janmabhoomi-style agitation. The dargah, established over 300 years ago, is a significant tourist destination, with historical records from the 12th century linking it to Haji Abdul Rahman.

The Supreme Court of India, in a case dating back to 1968, also referred to the site as a dargah, and historical documents such as the Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency from 1882 corroborate the existence of Haji Abdul Rahman’s tomb. There is no mention of Machhindranath's tomb in these records.

According to a report published in the Indian Express, the Marathas appointed Kashinath Pant Ketkar in the 18th century to manage this religious site. Since then, Ketkar’s family has been overseeing the dargah. The current trustee, Nasir Haji Peer, believes the dargah is over 800 years old and contains the tomb of Peer Malang, where daily prayers (namaaz) are offered five times a day.

In 1982, two individuals took the matter to court, but the case was closed after their deaths. The dargah is managed under the Waqf Board. Despite its Muslim heritage, Hindus also offer prayers, aarti and bhog to Machhindranath. Every full moon, special prayers are held at the site.

With Shinde swinging into action, the government machinery has also become active here. In July 2024, 85 apparently unautorised commercial buidlings near the dargah were demolished. The forest department argued that this action was taken for fear of landslides. People are worried about what’s next. Local Hindus are calling for the construction of a Machhindranath temple and a corridor similar to Kashi Vishwanath, leading to increased interest from builders and contractors.

This issue was first raised by Shinde’s political mentor, Anand Dighe, in the 1990s, with the support of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. Referring to ‘historical accounts’ they claimed the fort was built by King Naladev of the Maurya dynasty in the 7th century, while other reports suggested the king gave his daughter in marriage to the Sufi saint.

In the 17th century, the fort came under Maratha control before being seized by the British. Dighe succeeded in changing the name from Haji Malang to Malanggad in 1996. However, the dargah remains a shared religious space, where, traditionally, both a Hindu vahivatdar (priest) and a Muslim mutawalli (caretaker) officiate at religious ceremonies, reflecting a syncretic tradition unique to the region.