Thiruvananthapuram, June 13(IANS)

The media reports that the Government of India had denied permission for four women from Kerala who had been to Afghanistan along with their husbands and children to live in the Islamic Caliphate promised by the terror organization ISIS has once more brought the issue of Love Jihad to the centre stage of the stage.

Four women from the state Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha, Merin Jacob alias Merrin, Nimisha Nair alias Fathima Isa and Raffaela had left with their families to live in the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) in the years 2016-18. Their husbands were killed in separate attacks in Afghanistan and the women surrendered before the Afghan authorities in November 2019.

Senior Indian officials including officers from the external affairs ministry and the Central intelligence agencies had interrogated these four women at Kabul prisons and had reported to the Indian home ministry and external affairs ministry that these women were highly radicalized.

Mother of Nimisha, Bindu has already lashed out against the reports that the Government of India is not preferring to allow these women back to the country. Speaking to media at Thiruvananthapuram, Bindu said, “Why are they not allowing my daughter back to the country. Let her undergo trial and be given the punishment according to the law of the land. She has a small child and I don’t know why the authorities are so adamant in this.”

There were several allegations that several Hindu and Christian  girls were lured by Muslim youths and that these girls were taken to IS strongholds and were trained as terrorists. The BJP, RSS and other Hindu organisations were at the forefront of the campaigns that girls were being lured under the guise of love, converted, and married by Muslims and several of them were radicalized and some ending up in places like Afghanistan and Syria where they were doubled up as fighters and Jihadi’s for bringing in an Islamic Caliphate.

Justice KT Sankaran of the Kerala High Court had while hearing a bail plea of a Muslim youth arrested allegedly for converting two Hindu girls on December 9, 2009 said “ The police reports revealed the blessings of some outfits for a concerted effort for religious conversions”.  In his observation, Justice Sankaran said,” Indications of forceful religious conversions under the garb of love” were found and called for legislative interventions to prevent such acts.

The RSS and other Hindu organisations have already said that the issue of Love Jihad has to be taken for major discussion in the state with the new developments regarding the return of these women who were in the Islamic state at Afghanisthan and now lodged in Kabul jail.

Senior leader of the RSS and national convenor of Prajnapravah, RSS think tank, J Nandakumar while speaking to BPNS said,” You can call it Love Jihad, Romeo Jihad or anything but these four women are a classic example as to how there is a planned and concerted effort to lure Hindu and Christian girls and how they were radicalized and sent across to fight in Afghanistan. The major political parties have become silent or looked the other side fearing the repercussion from an organized vote bank.”

He further said, “These four women should not be allowed to come back to India as they are already radicalized and the IS chief Abubakar Bhagdadi had clearly said that the trained mercenaries must focus attention on their home country to fight for the Caliphate. They will definitely abide by the  call of Baghdadi and will be a major threat the internal security of our country if they are allowed to enter back to India.”

The Catholic church has already come out against several girls from the community being lured away by Muslim youths into marriages and conversions. The Synod of the Syro- Malabar Church an apex body of Catholic Bishops, chaired by Cardinal George Alanchery had accused the Kerala police of not viewing the matter cautiously and taking timely action in Love Jihad cases.

The Synod in its meeting had said,” It’s a reality that “Love Jihad” is happening in Kerala in a planned manner targeting Christian girls.” It had also said that out of 21 girls recruited to Islamic State terror outfit, half of them were converted from Christian faith and had warned the Christians to be an eye-opener to the community.

However Muslim organisations have denied the existence of Love Jihad and the Popular Front of India, considered as an Ultra Muslim organistion had in a statement confirmed that no Muslim organizations in India had recognized any Islamic State and that there are doubts as to who had created organizations like the IS.

State President of Popular Front of India, Nasarudeen Elamaram while speaking to BPNS said,” There is no such thing as Love Jihad and no Muslim organization in the country had accepted the existence of an Islamic state. We have strong doubts as to who was involved in the creation of the IS. “