Love Jihad law in India: The raging row

New Delhi: On March 8, 2025, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reiterated the need for "Love Jihad law" in the state, pointing out the government has reported receiving more than 100,000 complaints regarding illegal conversions, describing the situation as a case of "methodical madness".

In December 2022, when Fadnavis was the Deputy CM and held the law and judiciary portfolio, he had announced that the government would study bills and laws of other states related to ‘Love Jihad’ and take appropriate decision. "Such cases are happening all across the country. Some states have made stringent laws to curb such cases; hence, Maharashtra is also ready to enact the law on similar lines to ensure long-term protection to women.” Fadnavis had also pointed out then that there had been 40-odd morchas at various places in the state demanding a ‘Love Jihad’ law. Such demands and morchas have only mounted in the last over 2 years.

The term 'Love Jihad' has many connotations. In the concept of 'Love Jihad,' it is believed that Muslim men particularly target Hindu women, though Christian women are also affected, with the aim of converting them through tactics like seduction, showing to be in love, deception, kidnapping, marriage or promise of getting marriage. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been investigating multiple such cases, mostly in Kerala.

Some perceive it as an Islamophobic conspiracy theory promoted by supporters of Hindutva. They argue that the term is primarily used to target a specific community and garner support from the right-wing base for poll advantage. After the 2022 murder case of Shraddha Walkar, who was brutally killed by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala, social media platforms were flooded with debates about the term.

It was in 2009 that 'Love Jihad' received significant attention when the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council reported that 4,500 girls in Kerala had been targeted in 'Love Jihad'. The same year, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti claimed that 30,000 girls had been converted to Islam in Karnataka.

In June 2012, Oommen Chandy, the then Kerala Chief Minister from the Congress, told the state legislature that since 2006, as many as 2,667 young women had converted to Islam in the state, including 2,195 Hindus and 492 Christians. Whether these were forced conversions or not wasn't clear from his comments. However, it was enough to trigger a major row.

In September 2009, the right-wing group Shri Ram Sena displayed posters in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, sounding warning about 'Love Jihad.' In December 2011, Mallika Prasad of the BJP triggered controversy in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly when she claimed that 84 girls had gone missing in Dakshina Kannada district between June and November of that year. Following her statement, the Karnataka government decided to initiate an investigation into 'Love Jihad.'

In April 2021, the Gujarat Assembly passed an amendment to the Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, which aimed to slap penalties for forcible or fraudulent religious conversions through marriage or "Love Jihad." The amendment introduced more stringent provisions to combat forced conversions through marriage or inducement.

Under the Act, any religious conversion carried out or facilitated for the purpose of marriage is punishable with a prison sentence of no less than three years and up to five years, along with a fine of at least Rs 5 lakh. The Act also includes provisions to hold any organisation allegedly violating its rules accountable, with the person in charge facing jail ranging from a minimum of three years to a maximum of ten years.

In March 2025, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that the government intended to make a provision to slap the death penalty on those involved in the religious conversion of minor girls. The Madhya Pradesh Assembly passed the Religious Freedom Act on March 8, 2021, with the BJP taking a stronger stance against forced conversions.

The Madhya Pradesh law includes provisions to punish individuals found guilty of illegal conversions with up to 10 years of imprisonment and a huge fine. It deal with religious conversions carried out through deception, using marriage as a pretext, misrepresentation, threats, force, manipulation, or coercion.

In July 2024, the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was approved by the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. It slaps a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5 lakh on violators. The bill introduces new offenses under the concept of "Love Jihad," with all of these now carrying the penalty of life imprisonment.

In 2019, the Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission put forward a report to the Chief Minister, highlighting the rise of forced religious conversions and conversions through deceptive practices. The commission recommended the introduction of a law to address this issue. In 2020, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved a draft ordinance aimed at curbing forceful inter-faith conversions.

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On February 4, 2025, the Rajasthan government tabled the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2025, which seeks to criminalise religious conversion through the means of coercion, fraud, force, and marriage. The bill's stringent provisions include prison sentences of up to 10 years and fines of up to Rs 50,000.

The other states that have similar laws prohibiting forced religious conversions or illegal religious conversions are Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand.