Published 17:55 IST, January 4th 2021
224 eminent citizens counter ex-bureaucrats on demand for revoking UP Love Jihad ordinance
On Monday, 224 citizens who have served in the judiciary, Armed Forces, bureaucracy and academia backed the UP government's ordinance against Love Jihad.
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On Monday, a group of 224 concerned citizens who have served in the judiciary, Armed Forces, bureaucracy and academia backed the UP government's ordinance against unlawful conversions. They have countered the open letter penned by 104 retired civil servants who alleged misuse of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020. Claiming that this was a "politically motivated pressure group", the statement disapproved of their alleged attempt to "tarnish" Parliament, Election Commission of India and the Supreme Court.
Explaining the intent of the anti-conversion laws, the citizens contended that the ordinance cannot be deemed illegal and anti-Muslim solely based on the Moradabad incident where a woman allegedly suffered a miscarriage. Moreover, they pointed out some cases in which women had been brutally murdered in the course of inter-faith marriages and conversions. Maintaining that they consider unlawful conversions as a threat to communal harmony, the 224 individuals opined that this was a negation of the 'Ganga-Jamuni culture'.
Here is the statement of 224 eminent citizens:
Open letter to UP CM
On December 30, 2020, 104 ex-bureaucrats demanded the withdrawal of the anti-Love Jihad ordinance in Uttar Pradesh. Alleging that the aforesaid ordinance was being used to victimize Muslim men and women who dare to exercise their freedom of choice. Furthermore, it referred to the Allahabad High Court's judgment affirming that "the right to live with a person of his/her choice irrespective of religion professed by them, is intrinsic to the right to life and personal liberty". Claiming that the vigilantes are intimidating innocent citizens, the former civil servants lamented that Uttar Pradesh had become the epicentre of the "politics of hate, division and bigotry". Additionally, they called for compensation to be granted to people who have suffered from the enforcement of the ordinance.
Contours of the ordinance
Under the UP ordinance promulgated on November 28, an individual who forcefully marries a girl for the sheer purpose of converting her religion can face punishment up to 10 years in jail. Such a marriage will be declared null and void. Besides this, mass conversions shall be punishable with a jail term of 3-10 years and a fine of Rs. 50,000 on the organizations conducting it. If someone wants to convert to another religion, he/she has to submit an application to the District Magistrate two months in advance. While refusing to grant an interim stay, the Allahabad High Court will hear on January 7 multiple pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the anti-Love Jihad ordinance.
17:55 IST, January 4th 2021