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Debjit Mukherjee: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat has asked the functionaries of his organisation to work towards curbing the cases of ‘Love Jihad’ (the term given by right-wing groups for interfaith relationships or marriages and religious conversions) which according to him are on a rise in Uttar Pradesh.
Bhagwat, who was on a four-day state visit that ended on Monday, held a meeting with RSS office-bearers of Awadh Prant (region bordering Nepal) on the last day and asked them to reach out to the people to prevent such cases.
According to sources in the RSS, Bhagwat was of the opinion that religious conversions were “more profound in rural areas” of the state. “We need to focus especially in areas where anti-nationalist and anti-social elements are active,” Bhagwat reportedly told the RSS workers at a meeting in Lucknow.
Bhagwat also discussed ‘Land Jihad’ (a phrase given by the right wing for illegally grabbing land for constructing religious institutes or structures) during the meeting with the RSS workers.
“Land Jihad is taking place in the rural areas of the state, bordering Nepal. People are grabbing lands belonging to the Hindu community to build mosques, Mazars and dargahs,” a RSS functionary alleged. The RSS is already running public awareness programmes against such activities. It has been decided to intensify the awareness activities, he added.
