In a frequently quarrelsome and at times even aggressive interview on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s claim that young muslim men are indulging in love jihad to marry hindu girls so as to convert them to islam and also on the connected Uttar Pradesh ordinance on religious conversion, a member of the BJP’s National Executive has admitted that love jihad is “a complex issue” and there is “a total lack of academic policy on this issue”. He also said this is “a question of credibility”. Seshadri Chari says though “people understand the term and tend to believe it”, the phrase itself is like ‘policy-paralysis’ and ‘pseudo-secular’ i.e. terms that have become accepted and understood but for which proof is not always readily available. More importantly, speaking specifically of love jihad, he adds “we need to clinically examine to see if it’s true”. This is the first time a member of the BJP’s National Executive has expressed scepticism of love jihad.

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