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A "Love Jihad" pamphlet circulated in Vadodara

Vadodara:  Pamphlets on "Love Jihad" being discreetly circulated in parts of Vadodara in Gujarat are being investigated by the police.

The pamphlets, written in Gujarati, name the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) as the source and have apparently been printed at a press in Rajkot.

They begin by asking - "Do you want to Become a Prostitute? No? Then Read, Think and Behave" - and go on to list statistics that claim an increasing number of Hindu women are being lured by Muslim men into marriage, and are living as "second, third or fourth wives."

Hindi films are blamed for facilitating "Love Jihad", the term used by pro-Hindu groups for what they call an Islamist strategy to seduce and convert Hindu women.

"For the last 10 years, dons like Dawood Ibrahim, Haji Mastan have spent crores in Hindi films and serials. Hindu priests and saints are shown in a bad light in these films and serials whereas Muslim clerics are shown in a good light. Hindu girls are shown romancing Muslims heroes in films, Muslims boys get influenced by this and as part of an international conspiracy they dress up well and roam around in motorbikes to trap our Hindu daughters and sisters," the pamphlets say.

The VHP, which is affiliated to the ruling BJP’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has refused to talk about the pamphlets but some insiders say the organization does release "awareness campaign" material "from time to time."

The Vadodara police say they are investigating the leaflets.

Vadodara will hold by-polls this Saturday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi vacated the seat and chose to retain his other constituency, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP last month avoided the term "love jihad" when it adopted forced conversions as a campaign issue for the by-polls in key states including Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. But some of its members have been less circumspect. Among them is BJP MP Yogi Adityanath, who has been accused of making inflammatory statements in Uttar Pradesh, where polls will be held in 11 assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat on Saturday.

’No Entry to Muslims in Garba Celebrations’, Says BJP Legislator in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal:  A lawmaker of the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh says she wants Muslims barred from the "Garba" or a Gujarati dance festival to be held in several northern states in October.
 
Usha Thakur, a legislator from Indore and the BJP’s state vice president, is preparing to write to Garba organisers in her constituency, asking them to stop Muslim men from entering the dance venues and seducing women.

The decision, she claims, is based on a meeting of "intellectuals" - including doctors, engineers and a senior police officer - during the festival season last year.

"We have got data that during the Garba, on an average, four lakh girls convert to Islam every year. So we have started this awareness drive. It has been seen that people who have no faith or devotion to the festival put tilak and wear sacred thread and practice Garba and during that time woo our girls," Ms Thakur told NDTV.
 
She says to stop this alleged "Love Jihad", festival organisers must check IDs at the gates.
 
The BJP has distanced itself from Ms Thakur’s controversial move, which has been condemned by the opposition Congress.
 
State home minister Babulal Gaur refused to comment. "No, I will not react. Usha Thakur will know about this, not me," Mr Gaur told NDTV.

Congress leader Satyadev Katere said, "The idea is absurd. You cannot force things on society like this."
 
Ahead of by-polls on Saturday in key states including Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, pro-Hindu groups linked to the BJP’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have stepped up their campaign against "Love Jihad" - a term for what they consider an Islamist strategy to convert Hindu women.
 
The BJP avoided the term "Love Jihad" last month when it adopted the subject of forced conversions as a campaign issue for the by-elections. But some of the party’s leaders and its affiliates have been less circumspect.