A Sikh morcha was carried out on June 28, which a certain group called jihad. Love jihad, to be more precise. The prosecution had already disrupted the finely balanced communal harmony between two communities in a place that was busy – Kashmir.
What was seen was a huge group of angry Sardars marching on the streets of Srinagar in protest. The allegations were that two Sikh girls were kidnapped at gunpoint, forced to convert to Islam and married to Muslim men over 50 and with several children. The fact that there was not a single woman in the protest crowd is a constant footnote that has determined the systematic acceptance of patriarchy in India over the decades.
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There’s this patriarchy thing; the subtlety with which it manifests itself in everyday life is mostly overlooked by the majority of people. Nobody questioned the facts of the case. The sheer power of a mass of very angry men proclaiming that their wives were forcibly converted and married to Muslim men was enough to cause protests to break out in several parts of the country. The demand for a love jihad law for Kashmir was booming by right-wing groups.
Evidence was presented in the form of one of the allegedly tortured girls, Manmeet, who was recovered by her alleged kidnappers and “handed over” to her parents. The girl was brought to Delhi from Kashmir and married to a Sikh. The recovery was successful and the community celebrated. A Sikh girl was saved. Has anyone asked Manmeet – who is of legal age – whether she exercised her free will or was coerced? Of course not.
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There’s this truth thing, it eventually comes out, and not many people can handle it. The facts of “forced” conversion of Sikh girls show that both girls converted and married of their own accord. Not only are there legal documents (affidavits / marriage certificates) to establish the same thing, but there are also videos of both girls claiming to have exercised their free will.
While I was sitting and checking the story, my colleague Ashraf Wani visited the home of the “restored” girl Manmeet in Srinagar. He learned that Shahid Nazir, 28, was Manmeet’s neighbor. Recently divorced and father of one, Shahid and Manmeet are said to have fallen in love with each other. They married on June 5 against their parents’ wishes. Manmeet converted to Islam before marrying Shahid. The local Sikh community resented interfaith marriage. According to local eyewitness accounts, Manmeet was dragged into a car by some Sikh youths when she went to the Srinagar court to register their marriage. Her husband, Shahid Nazir, was arrested on charges of kidnapping and is still awaiting bail.
Manmeet was later brought to Delhi and married to a Sikh. However, her Nikahnama with Shahid is a legal document that makes her second marriage illegal. The other girl, Dhanmeet, who was allegedly kidnapped and forced to convert, posted a video on social media. Dhanmeet says she is in love with her husband, who is only four years older than her. She added that she converted to Islam in 2012 and married her roommate. Dhanmeet and her husband are currently untraceable for fear of persecution.
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So did certain male members of the Sikh community make decisions for adult women to remarry one of them? Yes they did. Is there a heavy dose of politics that goes with the history of Sikh conversion? Of course there is. On the other hand, are there enough precedents for Islam and conversion, whether by force or not? Yes there is. If there is an established historical context of systematic conversion by a religion like Islam, should one be careful? Maybe they should. However, should adult women be allowed to lie in bed and face the consequences of their actions? Unfortunately, there is no correct answer to this in India.
(The views expressed are personal)
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