‘Love Jihad’: Another Hindutva term to spread communal hatred and a moving tale of two lovers

I have been wondering if the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, has the freedom to relay shrouded death warnings and threats to all those Muslim men found indulging in the so called love jihad! For one, the mischievously whipped-up Hindutva term ‘love jihad’ reeks of anything but love. It stinks of communal hatred. It also seems to give license to this Hindutva ruler to issue stark warnings of death and destruction, via this particular phrase - ‘Ram naam satya hai’ . After all, ‘Ram naam satya hai’ is chanted during funeral processions! As though more than implying that all those Muslim men daring to falling in love with non- Muslims could be targeted and killed…and then their funeral processions would be carried out!

Communal onslaughts on the Muslim community have been accelerating, terrorizing the community, At the start of 2020, the likes of Anurag Thakurs, Kapil Mishras, Parvesh Vermas gave speech after speech, mouthing the absolutely unthinkable for the ‘other’. None of them bothered to camouflage or conceal their hatred. All out in the open!

At the start of 2019, Ananth Kumar Hedge came up with the threat — “hands that touch Hindu girls should be chopped off!” Before that, he had publicly said, “Till Islam is in the world there can be no end to terrorism!”

In 2018, Right -Wing MP, Vinay Katiyar, said loud and clear that the Indian Muslims ought to go to Pakistan! And in In 2017, Sakshi Maharaj and other Hindutva characters unleashed the poisonous propaganda that Muslim men marry four times and with that produce 40 children! Then Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti went to the extent of heaping gutter abuses along the Haramzada strain, on the Muslim community.

Of course, not to be overlooked Sangeet Som’s communal speeches in Western Uttar Pradesh, threatening to ignite violence in the Western Uttar Pradesh belt (Sangeet Som has been implicated in the Muzaffanagar riots of 2013 and he was also accused of stoking communal tensions in Dadri’s Bisada village after the killing of Mohammed Akhlaq.) Not to overlook Vijay Goel’s comments on the hijab!

Also, BJP’s MLA from the Goshamahal constituency in Hyderabad, T Raja Singh, could get away even after mouthing death threats to all those who come in way of the Ram Temple construction. “If there is anybody who has the guts to say he would stop the construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, let him come forward. I challenge that I will behead him…Until now, Uttar Pradesh had witnessed timid governments. Now, you have the powerful government. Baap ki sarkaar…” And just days after stating that India would become a Hindu nation by 2024, Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Surendra Singh had come up with his communal onslaught, “those who desisted from saying ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ are Pakistanis!”

In 2018, Right -Wing MP, Vinay Katiyar, said loud and clear that the Indian Muslims ought to go Pakistan! And in In 2017, Sakshi Maharaja and other Hindutva characters unleashed the poisonous propaganda that Muslim men marry 4 times and with that produce 40 children! Then Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti went to the extent of heaping gutter abuses along the Haramzada strain, on the Muslim community.

Of course, Sangeet Som’s communal speeches in Western Uttar Pradesh can’t be overlooked, which threatened to ignite violence in the Western Uttar Pradesh belt (Sangeet Som has been implicated in the Muzaffanagar riots of 2013 and he was also accused of stoking communal tensions in Dadri’s Bisada village after the killing of Mohammed Akhlaq.)

Vijay Goel’s comments on the hijab can not be ignored too! Also, BJP’s MLA from the Goshamahal constituency in Hyderabad, T Raja Singh, could get away even after mouthing death threats to all those who come in way of the Ram Temple construction. “If there is anybody who has the guts to say he would stop the construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, let him come forward. I challenge that I will behead him…Until now, Uttar Pradesh had witnessed timid governments. Now, you have the powerful government. Baap ki sarkaar…” And just days after stating that India would become a Hindu nation by 2024, Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Surendra Singh had come up with his communal onslaught, “those who desisted from saying ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ are Pakistanis!”

Mandu: The Romance of Roopmati & Baz Bahadur: It’s love in this book

Trying to distract myself , I have been reading Malathi Ramachandran’s recently launched historic novel ‘Mandu: The Romance of Roopmati & Baz Bahadur ( Niyogi Books). Based on the legend of the intense love between the sultan of Mandu, Baz Bahadur, and a commoner, Roopmati, its a love story set in the 16th century India, with strong historical and social under currents running in the background.

Very gently put together, this tale seems enchanting till the very end. What, with the classical musical strains, the common meeting ground between the sultan and his lady love …And though, it ends on a tragic note, but then even in that tragedy it is loyalty and emotional love that stand out.

Of course, in today’s social set up, such sensitive love stories seem more along the fairy tale format. But so what! We do need many more fairy tales After all, reading such touching romantic tales, takes one towards another world, where human love goes much beyond the usual set patterns. In fact, after reading this legendary love story, one realizes the clear and distinct distinction between love and lust…And how sacrificing is love, in all its dimensions….It wouldn’t be fair if I sit and write details to this love tale of Baz Bahadur and Roopmati, because such stories are best read and internalized …to be read leisurely; its sure to take you beyond the immediate.

To quote author Malathi Ramachandran from the prologue - “The legend of Roopmati and Baz Bahadur is a part of the very consciousness of Malwa…This, the story of Sultan Baz Bahadur and Roopmati is my offering to every reader who loves to be whisked away to another era and live other lives between the covers of a book. Welcome to Mandu!”

Saffron flowers bloom in the fields of Kashmir’s Pampore

And as the saffron flowers bloom in Kashmir Valley’s Pampore, I am sitting reading this lovely folk song, tucked in the pages of historian G.M.D Sufi’s two volumes- Kashir- Being A History of Kashmir. From the Earliest Times To Our Own (Capital publishing House):

Like gold art thou gleaming, O saffron flower! /
To thee I devote my all, O saffron flower /
Like a burning dost thou look in moon-lit night /
Who hath given thee colour, O saffron flower!/
Who had given thee scent,O saffron flower !/
Just would I give thee a sweet embrace./

Towards Pampor flew away my Love/
The saffron flowers confined him in sweet embrace:
O he is there, and ah me, I am here /
When, when, O God, would I see his face,/
Let us go to Pampor,O maiden
When blooms the saffron,
It makes my heart throb
And steals it, ah me!/
Let’s go to pampor, O maiden /
When blooms the saffron.”