|
Kochi:
The Kerala state
government was not considering legislation against forced religious
conversions said the state Law Minister M Vijayakumar. He explained
that the government would consider all the related factors when the
matter came to its consideration. He was talking to the mediapersons
in Malappuram.
The
statement of the Law Minister has come in the wake of the recent
suggestion by the Kerala High Court that the government should
consider legislation preventing forced conversions.
The
HC made the suggestion on Wednesday while dismissing the bail
applications of two boys accused of forcefully converting two girls
to Islam. The case was that the boys had forced two girls studying
for MBA into conversion feigning love.
Initially the boys applied for anticipatory bail and then tried to
cancel it accusing that they did not expect justice from the court.
The court saw the request as a clear matter of contempt of court but
said it was not taking any measures.
Justice KT Shankaran reportedly observed that religious conversions
were taking place in the state, even though 14 out of the police
reports submitted at the court said the other way. The observation
said that about 4000 persons had converted to other religions
through love-marriages in the state in the last four years, 2800 of
them being girls. 1600 religoius conversions had taken place in
Kasargode, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts (Malabar) by
way of love-marriages.
The
report of the Special Branch said that the girls of elite Hindu and
Christian families were persuaded to convert. Religious conversions
with the help of Muslim organisations began in the state in 1996.
Some organisations in the Saudi Arabia finance the religious
conversions in the name of scholarships.
Many
important persons in the social, cultural, religious and political
fields have expressed their discontent at the court’s suggestion. Dr
MS Jayaprakash, historian and human rights activist, reportedly
opined that the court’s observations were against secular values and
did not conform to the dignity of the Constitution. Famous thinker
and writer Ram Puniyani opined that the judgement would lead to
communal divide. He added that when courts too joined such fake
propaganda, it would lead to communal tensions.
Adv
A Pookunhu, president of the Kerala Muslim Jamat Federation, said
that the state government should appeal against the observations
made by Js KT Shankaran ignoring the reports of the Kerala and
Karnataka DGPs.
The
Kerala Muslim Yuvajana Federation has also decided to complain to
the President against the observations made by Js KT Shankaran. KS
Shan, state president of the Campus Front, opined that the judgement
that religious conversions through love in the name of ‘Love jihad’
and ‘Romeo Jihad’ were taking place in Kerala is an insult to the
secular society. The judge has treated the matter which may have
serious consequences in the religious and cultural spheres in a
trivial manner.
|
Islamic Banking more than Muslims beneficial for India: British
Advisor
Telangana and Muslims:
As the Telangana
cauldron boils over moves are already afoot to paint the dispute in
communal colors and make the region's Muslims the proverbial
sacrificial lamb. The mainstream media.
AMU invaluable intellectual treasure
of the country, says Rahul Gandhi: 
T
Chidambaram’s ‘Hindu Terrorist’ remark in RS irks BJP:
Comment on this article