Genetics of Love-Jihad and Love-Jauhar

Twenty years ago, the phrase ‘Love-Jihad’ entered the Indian public sphere. The underlying idea was that Hindu women were being enchanted into marrying Muslim men. This was not perceived as genuine love but rather as a clandestine Islamic expansionist strategy, using marriage as a means to propagate the faith. The Hindu lobby that raised this issue never questioned why Hindu women might choose Muslim men over Hindu men; their sole focus was on how to prevent such unions. Contrast this with another term: ‘Jauhar’. This refers to the self-immolation of women in a besieged fortress, choosing death by fire over…