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The case has spurred high decibel campaigns both for and against Hadiya's freedom. It has also raised many valid questions about one's personal freedom and a parent's role and responsibility
The history of Kerala is also the history of conversions. From Christianity to Islam to Judaism, all world religions have played a crucial role in shaping this tiny state. And unlike any of its counterparts, Kerala boasts of a different demographic proportion—with minority religions almost on par with the majority ones, thanks to this interesting history.
But of late, conversions in the state have become national news, thanks to the strange coinage of 'love jihad'. The new-found attention has reached such proportions that the NIA was roped in to scrutinise it.
It is in this context that the highly sensitive Hadiya case grabbed eyeballs. The case received national attention, with the Supreme Court asking the federal anti-terror agency to investigate the case of Akhila Asokan alias Hadiya, a 25-year-old Hindu woman who converted to Islam and married a Muslim man. She converted while pursuing BHMS at Sivraj Homoeopathic Medical College in Tamil Nadu.
The case began when Akhila’s parents moved the Kerala High Court in 2016, alleging that she was radicalised, converted to Islam, and forcibly married to a Muslim man. The High Court annulled the marriage and Akhila’s husband Shafin Jahan moved the Supreme Court, which in turn asked the NIA to investigate the ‘love jihad’ case.
Hadiya's father, K.M. Ashokan, said that his fight is not on religious grounds. “I would have happily supported her even if she had gone in for an inter-religious marriage," he said. The retired army man told in an interview to a national daily that he was worried that his daughter Akhila was on a "dangerous path" which might lead her to join the terror group Islamic State. He recalled a previous conversation with her, where she had apparently told him she might go to Syria. He said it was this fear that drove him to seek all possible legal recourse, and said he would accept the Supreme Court's order once it comes. "I am sure my daughter will come back," said.
The Supreme Court last week questioned the Kerala High Court's order in the case, and also asked whether the High Court could annul a marriage between two adults. Questioning the HC's power to declare a marriage as null, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said: "Either we will appoint loco parentis or we will send her somewhere safe. The father cannot insist on her custody." The SC is expected to take up the matter in the coming week as the state women's commission has also approached it on the same matter.
Meanwhile, the case has spurred high decibel campaigns both for and against Hadiya's freedom. It has also raised many valid questions about one's personal freedom and a parent's role and responsibility. Questioning the unusual interest the case has garnered, poet Sowmya Vidhyadhar said: “Every man and woman in love have the right to live together irrespective of their caste, creed, religion, colour, language, and nationality. But in a country like India and in many other similar counties getting married outside one's community is a luxury very few can afford. So what happens when people fall in love? They are murdered. Fathers, brothers and mothers kill their daughters to protect the family honour. So why in the case of "Hadiya" are we taking to the streets so strongly and asking for her release?''
The case has triggered debates on social media with many activist groups streaming live visuals of their 'Free Hadiya' campaign. The discussions has become so divisive that the grey areas have practically disappeared from the public discourse.
But there are sane voices, too, amid this cacophony. Ekta Parishad state president John Samuel felt that the aggressive identity politics of Popular Front of India only results in igniting saffron politics of RSS. Hadiya case has become more visible and contentious in this context, he felt. “On one hand, there is the real issue of a woman's freedom of religion and freedom of choice being violated. And on the other hand, multiple narratives of identity politics are being played out by different actors,'' he said. According to Samuel, the more important issue that needs to be addressed is the “increasing mistrust within the society.''
Najma Jose, an active voice on the matter, also felt that there is human rights violation in the case. “But that doesn't mean one has to support the extremists organisations like Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) who are playing with her life. Also, they are using the term Islamophobia to cover up their ideologies from being criticised. One should not be intimidated by it,'' she said.
Hadiya, in fact, is only one of the raging 'conversion' cases in Kerala in recent times. There was the case of Athira, another Hindu woman who converted to Islam at a religious centre in Kozhikode. When Athira, a computer graduate moved out of her parents’ home in Kasargod district on July 10, she left a letter in which she told her parents that she wanted to follow Islam. But her parents registered a complaint in the local police station, saying they feared their daughter would be abducted. They also filed a petition in the High Court.
On July 31, Athira appeared in the High Court. She told the judges she had embraced Islam of her own will. She said she was willing to go back to live with her parents provided they allowed her to practice her new religion. The parents agreed to the condition.
However, addressing mediapresons on September 21, she said: “I am returning to Hinduism.” According to her, she was attracted to Islam during college days as most of her friends were Muslims. “They told me that Hindus worship stones. They even asked me how stones could protect people,” she said. Athira said she listened to the speeches of many Islamic scholars including Zakir Naik. “All of them spoke about Hinduism based on unauthentic puranas. They exhorted Islam is the only true religion and I began to believe in the supremacy of Islam,” she said.
Athira clarified that she was not in touch with any Muslim organisations before she left home. “Their involvement happened after that,” she said. A relative of one of her friends was a member of the Popular Front of India, a hardline Islamic organisation. “They offered to help me after they read the letter I wrote before I left home.” Athira said her views on religion changed during the time she spent at the Hindu reconversion centre, Aarsha Vidya Samajam, in Ernakulam.
Interestingly, this very institution is now mired in controversy following a complaint by a 26-year-old Shweta alleging that she was forcibly detained at the centre and tortured physically and mentally tortured for marrying a Christian man. According to her, she was forcibly taken to the centre by her parents who conspired with the Samajam director 'Guruji' Manoj and tried to force her to marry a Hindu man. She also alleged that at least 65 other women and girls were detained at the centre. She also claimed that she escaped from the centre on August 21 and went back to stay with her husband.
“Hadiya case is a crucial one among religious conversions in the state. But unlike what human rights activists would like us to believe, the case is not just black and white. And it is not simply about a women's freedom to marry someone whom she likes,'' said a police officer who is part of the IB team which is assisting the NIA.
The spurt in conversion has added fuel to Hindutva groups that seek to counter conversions to Islam through reconversions. Arsha Vidya Samajam, Arya Samaj Mandir, Hindu Helpline and Hindu Help Desk are all part of this `ghar wapsi' trend. “Do you think all these girls converted to Islam out of conviction? They all are being lured into it and there are foreign funded agencies to facilitate this conversion,'' said Harikumar Kartha of Arya Samajam.
As extreme elements in both religion fight it out, there is a another section which believes that women are just being used as instruments by extreme outfits. “Isn't it an irony that the fringe elements like SDPI who insist on purdha system and polygamy has become the top most advocates of women's liberation? Similarly, the RSS which never gives any space to women other than to be the 'kulanari' speaks about protecting women,'' asked Rehana S. , a feminist activist.
That the spurt in conversions is suspicious is something endorsed by the police too.
According to state government figures, as many as 7,713 persons have converted to Islam in 2006-2012 as against 2,803 conversions to Hinduism. The report also states that more than half of those who converted to Islam are women, and that the majority of these women (76 pc) are below 35 years. Of those converted, majority are Hindus, with Christian numbering around 1,000.
“It is a fact that there has been an unusual spurt in conversions in the state. If earlier it was mostly from Hindu community, now Christians are also being converted to Islam. There is doubt these are plain conversions as the presence of a third party as a facilitator is very evident,'' said an IB official.
When asked about Islamophobia behind the suspicion, he said: “Islamophobia is a reality in Kerala society. But one should not forget that is did not happen overnight. These kind of suspicious conversions will only add on to it,'' he said.
According to National Book Trust Malayalam assistant editor Rubin D'Cruz, there is “deliberate attempt" to tamper with the secular fabric of the state.
“If it was purely religious motive of increasing the numbers, then conversion activists would normally target the head of the family. Here it is girls who are being singled out and there is a pattern in these conversions which is dangerous,'' he said.
D'Cruz, however, hoped that the state, with its intrinsic multiculturalism, will overcome this conflict.
