Mushirul Hasan’s article, “ >Love, faith and conversions ” (Sept.16), appears to be a bit inadequate in analysing the trend of growing intolerance in society. The writer’s opinion on conversions was at best ambiguous. Was he trying to say that one set of mistakes should be forgiven for the sake of harmony as it is still being debated, and that popular leaders overlooked it for the sake of larger national issues of the time? This kind of a selective effort at building secularism has only given the right wing an opportunity to portray the majority religion as being under threat.
A. Jha,New Delhi
The rhetoric around love jihad will get our country nowhere. While countries like China are marching forward, should India stumble by feuding over imaginary issues? The term love jihad in itself is a malicious campaign, first hatched and used in Kerala in order to insult a particular community around 2009, and where they have a relatively better standard of living. Sangh outfits used it to good effect in Kerala and south Karnataka even as inter-State police investigations found no truth in it. It is a smear campaign with no substance.
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Is there anywhere in the world where there is a Muslim-majority country that is secular? On the topic of love jihad, conversions are fine if they happen both ways, that is from Hinduism to Islam and vice versa.
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The blurb to the article was spot on in saying that “polemical literature and what is taught in schools and colleges are a startling revelation of the suspicion tinged with hatred for the religious minorities.” This is the root cause of the presence of communal tensions. Frankly speaking, it is time atheism is introduced as a subject in schools.
Unnikrishnan Mangalasseri,Manjeri
There is very little evidence on the ground to match the kind of outrage being created by the Sangh Parivar over the issue of conversions. The fallacy of the so-called love jihad campaign is all too apparent to warrant any reaction to the absurd theory. Provocative statements by right-wing elements will no doubt sustain the tempo gained by the BJP in the parliamentary elections. The costs of having to live with an uneasy communal atmosphere will be far too heavy for the country to bear than looking at it in terms of a mere electoral victory.
J. Anantha Padmanabhan,Tiruchi
I have always experienced love as a many splendored thing. I recently came across a beautiful meaning for the most abused word, jihad : “The goal of true jihad is to attain a harmony between Islam (submission), iman (faith) and ihsan (righteous living). “Love jihad,” a combination of two sublimely beautiful words, has morphed into a catchword, something sinister, hateful and potentially explosive. Mercifully, such hate campaigns surface only during State Assembly elections.
C.V. Venugopalan,Palakkad
It was refreshing to read a well- thought-out article that emphasised the paramount importance of maintaining ‘unity in diversity’ in the best interests of our nation. All said and done, we need to take a close look at the facts. When a religion is pre-eminently placed above everything, it certainly leads to exclusion and isolation. Naturally this causes a hardline response from other religions, and the consequences become inevitable. Unless religion is restricted to its defined and refined role and disallowed from being dominating and dictating, the problem of fanaticism will continue to haunt us.
R. Ramanathan,Coimbatore
The galloping phenomenon of hate speeches is very sad, as it affects tolerance and the spirit of fraternity in society. Love jihad seems to be a catchphrase now with every Hindu being fed with extreme thoughts on this and it being portrayed as dangerous for unity of the country. Love is life and should not be politicised. Regarding conversions, every citizen has the right to make his own choices. The growth of this country lies in its unity and integrity amid great diversity.
Rajesh Kathwal,Buria, Haryana