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The Kerala Story: Here’s The Evidence Showing The Brutal Reality Of Love Jihad 

May 3, 2023
Anand Krishna

‘The Kerala Story’ film has found itself at the centre of a controversy ever since the release of its teaser. The story depicts the hardship of thousands of Indian girls, primarily from Kerala, who have been converted and transported to Islamic State regimes in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.

The ruling Communists of Kerala and the woke ‘Liberal-Left’ intelligentsia in the state and the country were quick to jump in to criticise the movie and portray the story as another propaganda attempt by the RSS and BJP.

Apart from that Muslim League (IUML) has declared a reward of ₹1 crore if anyone can prove Love Jihad in Kerala.

If a movie’s trailer can invoke such reactionary elements in the society, then the subject must be debated instead of cancelling it. The ferocity with which CPIM, IUML and Congress have attacked the movie and their eagerness to not to debate on the subject is questionable and arouse suspicion. Even though the trailer has stoked critical nerves of Jihadi forces, it has brought the issue of Love Jihad to the public fore like never before and it gives us an opportunity to examine the brutal reality behind the Love Jihad waged by Islamic terrorists on non-Muslims.

The whole notion of political jihad that is waged by Islamic terrorists revolves solely around the notion of unleashing destruction to people belonging to other religions. The methods which are employed for this purpose varies from may be, exploding a bomb to cooking up a relationship. The Jihad waged on Hindus in India takes different overtures and sometimes it presents itself in the form of Love Jihad. Innocent Hindu girls are lured in to the ploy of love concocted by Jihadi forces and when these girls are cornered without help, they are made to convert to Islam in the name of love.

People Who Have Spoken About The Menace

A wise man once said to ‘call a spade a spade’ but if one applies logic and does that they are cancelled and classified as right-wing reactionary forces. In the Islamic belts of Kerala and Karnataka, Love Jihad is a rampant phenomenon which has created friction between Hindus and Muslims. The Hindu reaction to the issue of Love Jihad shall be seen only as a reaction to the act of Jihadi forces and interestingly this reaction is not confined to Hindus alone. The Christians in Kerala are also on their nerves due to this issue.

For example, the Syro Malabar Church Pala diocese bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt had recently stated that Catholic girls in Kerala are now becoming the victims of ‘narcotics jihad’ and ‘love jihad.’ So, if concerns about a similar subject by all communities except the Muslims themselves, then there is some truth behind this subject which needs to be unearthed.

Pala diocese bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt stated at that time that, “Wherever arms cannot be used, narcotics are being used and Catholic girls become the victims. And to help this there is a group in Kerala which is functioning. To understand this, one needs to just analyse, how come ladies from other religions reached the IS camps.”.

This issue of love jihad is apolitical in its consequences in the society. Back in 2018 the parents of ‘love jihad’ victims of Kerala had floated a collective to bring back their daughters and somehow influence the government to take action against the culprits.

Speaking at a press conference on the issue, Ashokan KM, the father of Hadiya (born Akhila) and Bindu K, the mother of ‘Nimisha’ (who allegedly joined ISIS), stated that the children of 30 families were ‘love jihad’ victims. “It is sad that government and police are adopting an attitude that is favouring the terrorists in such cases. This forced us to form this collective,” Ashokan said.

He further stated that “Many girls have committed suicide whereas some of them were killed or subjected to sexual abuse. Nobody knows where they are now. NIA and police investigated cases and revealed names of many individuals and organizations who are the real culprits and accomplices. Still, police and government have failed to act,”.

A petition filed by Nimisha’s parents before the apex court states that their daughter was lured into a relationship, abused, impregnated, forced to abort, converted to Islam, and finally abandoned by one Sajjad Rehman, while she was studying in college. Later, she was forced into marriage by one Isa (Baxen), who had converted to Islam from Christianity. Now, she is believed to be in one of the provinces under control of ISIS in Afghanistan. The sad part of the above-mentioned story is that it is not a standalone incident but only one among many incidents across India. The testimonies of the victims and the ordeals of parents are nerve chilling and it makes us even question the government machinery which act as an accomplice in this issue.

In another instance, prominent Christian politician from Kerala P C George had stated that ‘love jihad’ exists and said that around 47 girls in his former constituency have fallen victims to this phenomenon. George said that among the victims, 12 are Hindus and 35 are Christians. He also said that he is not going ahead with any complaints or approaching the court as the families of most of these girls are on the verge of committing suicide. He also said that he is convinced that love jihad exists. Former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had also spoke about the issue of conversions. But mostly concerns of these politicians and leaders belonging to non-Muslim communities had fallen in to the deaf ears of proponents of ‘appeasement politics.’

Love Jihad Instances

There is plethora of instances which narrates the plight of the girls who fell victim to love jihad and those stories also narrates the evil nature of vulture eyed Islamic jihadis circling to entrap these women.

In Uttar Pradesh, at one such instance, six people were arrested for entrapping Hindu women. In this case Arbaaz, the hookah bar owner, used to allow only Muslim boys & minor Hindu girls to visit the bar, then intoxicate Hindu girls & have sex with them.

In Madhya Pradesh a video went viral with claim “Wajid Ali along with family members was beaten due to Muslim identity”. But the truth is: Wajid Ali had taken away a Hindu girl from his own village.

Not so long ago in the mega city of Mumbai, a man belonging to the Muslim community killed his wife, who is from the Hindu community for allegedly refusing to wear a burqa and following Islamic tradition.

College going girls belonging to other religions are targeted by Islamic forces for propagation of their religion. From Kerala itself the police recently had registered a case of abetment of suicide against Altaf, a classmate and a Malayali, in the incident of 22-year-old Bhuvana Babu’s death by hanging at her residence in Thrissur Ilanthuruth Karyattukara Kuttikattuparam. 

Mostly the victims are not famous personalities but famous personalities are not immune from this phenomenon. For example, television actress Dhivya, known for her role in Tamil serial “Sevvanthi,” accused actor Nainar Mohamed, alias Arnav, of deceiving her and forcing her into Islam under the guise of marriage.

The story of the victims is never ending but there is one story which reveals us the whole pattern behind the love jihad operation, that is the story of Hadiya. The story is actually about an atheist ex-serviceman K.M. Ashokan, his wife Ponnamma and his only daughter Akhila. She lived with her parents and studied at local schools until 12th standard, which she passed in her second attempt.

After 12th her parents enrolled her in Sivaraj Homeopathic Medical College at Salem, Tamil Nadu for graduation in 2010. Akhila was a simple girl, like her parents she was also atheist and did not like religion as well as politics. At college she met to two Muslim girls Faseena and Jaseela and all 3 became good friends. In 2012 Akhila came to home on summer vacation and she kept fast in Ramzan. She told her parents that she was doing this for her friends. On Eid her friends called at their home. She went to Malappuram to celebrate Eid with Faseena and Jaseela where she met their father Aboo Backer. After Eid all three went back to her college at Salem for studies.

On November 2015, Akhila got to know her grandmother had died. She went to home but she refused to join the funeral rituals. Her parents thought due to study pressure and immaturity that she is acting in a different manner but the truth was much more sinister.

On 1 January 2016, Akhil asked to her father “Papa Islam is a beautiful religion, Can I convert to Islam?” Her father was shocked. He scolded her. She said she is going back to my college at Salem but she lied to her parents and did not go to Salem. She went to Malappuram. She met her friend’s father Aboo Backer.

Akhila’s father got to know that she didnt reach to Salem. He enquired n found out that she is at Mallpuram with Aboo Backer. He filed FIR against Aboo Backer and police arrested him and presented him in the court. Akhila was produced and what she said there created sensation. Akhila said that she is no more Akhila, she has converted to Islam and her new name is Hadhiya. She said she didnt want to live with her parents and wanted to live with her new gradian Zainaba.

When she met to Aboo Backer she said she wanted to learn more about Islam. He asked her to join a Islamic institute. She went to Kozhikode and joined an institute ‘Sathya Sarani’ where she met Zainaba, PFI’s women wing president. Zainaba was teaching Hadiya Islam. In August 2016, fresh petition was filed by Hadiya’s father in court to get back her daughter but Hadiya said again she wanted to stay with Zainaba and did not want to go to her parents. Court allowed her decision. And in December 2016 during court proceedings, she came with a man and told court that she is now married to that man. That man was Shefin Jahan. The circle of love-indoctrination-jihad was now complete. Shefin was an active member of SDPI. Hadhiya told in court that she met to Shefin on a matrimony site and married him with her wish. Her father said that she was influenced by Zainaba and she is the real mastermind and this is the case of love jihad.

In May 2017 Kerala High court accepted that it is a case of love jihad and cancelled the marriage. Court said, “A girl aged 24 is weak and vulnerable, capable of being exploited in many ways.” It sent Hadiya back to her parents and puts her under police surveillance. It became the first legally convicted case of love jihad in India. It created sensation in leftist Islamist ecosystem. They challenged it in Supreme Court. Kapil Sibal fought case from Hadiya side. Case was very intriguing, how an atheist girl all of a sudden became an entirely differdnt in few years! Even though the liberal machinery of Supreme Court stepped in for Hadiya, the case clearly revealed the length and breadth in which Islamic forces go to wage their jihad.

Islamist’s Own Country

Kerala is a state which is cursed by radical Islamic tendencies and it is turning in to Islamist’s own country. The politics and approach of minority appeasement adopted by the ruling CPI(M) has also aggravated the situation. The politics of appeasement adopted by CPI(M) can be traced back in time when the current CM was in power previously.

Back in 2018, when news came that Kerala had asked for a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and then Director General of Police Loknath Behera were quick to deny the report.

“It is not the Kerala government’s policy to ban any communal or terrorist outfit. If any outfit that creates riots in India and divides society on communal lines needs to be banned, then it should be the RSS first. Such organisations cannot be countered with a ban and this has been proved by our experience in the past.”, he said.

The CM’s statement did not come as a surprise for political critics in the state, since the CPI(M)’s lenient attitude towards the PFI and its political outfit, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has been an open secret.

CPI(M) has even been accused of closing its eyes or even quietly supporting the radical activities of the PFI and its allied outfits for many years. The CPI(M) lacks a credible ground base support from Islamic parties in Kerala and does not have allies to march into a substantial Islamic voter base in Kerala.

Veteran journalist, political critic, and social activist BRP Bhaskar says, “There has always been an electoral angle to the CPI (M)’s approach to various parties, especially parties with a communal orientation. So far as the Muslim and Christian communities are concerned, the CPI (M) has been particularly eager to attract the parties with a mass support.”

He further pointed out, “This is because the representation of minorities in the party’s membership is comparatively low. Kerala has 54% Hindu population and the non-Hindus in the CPI (M) membership constitute only 8%. This shows that they have not been able, over the years, to attract the minority communities to the extent they would like and to make up for the shortfall, they are looking for other parties, Muslim parties.”

It was speculated then that, the reason for the CPI(M) supporting PFI was the weakening of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), another Muslim political outfit, after its head Abdul Nasser Madani’s arrest in connection with the Bengaluru serial blasts case. “The only other Muslim political outfit was the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which has aligned with the CPI (M)’s opponent Congress. By siding with PFI, the CPI (M) clearly eyed the votes of the community people who back PFI,” he added.

According to Bhaskar, the CPI (M) tried wooing IUML earlier but failed to offer the party a Cabinet post and bring it into the mainstream.

Kerala is on a brink due to these radical forces. Plenty of Kerala men and women are said to have joined the ISKP (Islamic State of Khorasan Province) in recent years. The United Nations warned in its 2020 terrorism report that there are a substantial number of ISIS terrorists in the Indian state of Kerala and Karnataka.

The report says that the ISIL Indian affiliate (Hind Wilayah), which was announced on May 10, 2019, has between 180 and 200 members with significant numbers of ISIL operatives in Kerala and Karnataka states

The threat of radicalism and terrorism are few among major challenges faced by the world today and it poses substantial risk to stability and harmony of our society. Terrorism certainly poses major challenges in our society too whether it is in the form of violence or love. Former PM of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee once stated that, ‘Terrorism has become a festering wound. It is an enemy of humanity.’

It is high time the Kerala government start taking the issue seriously without being swayed by vote bank or appeasement and start taking stern actions against fringe elements on ground for the sake of India’s national security.

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