2 Muslim woman convert to Hinduism after consensual marriage with Hindu men, grooms, priest threatened by Muslim women's families

Case ID : 0b66bc7 | Location : Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 17 May, 2024

Case ID : 0b66bc7

Uttar Pradesh, India

17 May, 2024

2 Muslim woman convert to Hinduism after consensual marriage with Hindu men, grooms, priest threatened by Muslim women's families

Men attacked for being associated with non-Hindu women

Attacked by non-Hindu partner or/and her family

Case Summary

In Uttar Pradesh, two Muslim girls in Bareilly and Sitapur districts converted to Hinduism and married Hindu men on May 18, 2024. In Bareilly, Nisha became Radhika and married Rajesh Kumar at Agastya Muni Ashram. Despite being an adult and converting willingly, their marriage faced opposition from Radhika's parents. Pandit KK Shankhdhar, who conducted the marriage, reported receiving threats from individuals associated with Ala Hazrat of Bareilly, accusing him of illegal conversions of Muslim women. Shankhdhar clarified that the conversions (Gharwapsi) and marriages were voluntary decisions of the adult women. In Sitapur, Nida Bano, who became Nidhi, married Rachit Kumar at Kalipeeth temple with the help of Vikas Hindu, president of Rashtriya Hindu Sher Sena. Nida and Rachit had been in a relationship for three years, but Nida's family disapproved. This led her brother to attempt to strangle her. He also threatened Rachit. Fearing Muslim customs like triple talaq and halala, Nida chose to convert to Hinduism willingly.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case is a distinct case of religiously motivated hate crime and has been included under the prime category of 'man attacked for being associated with a non-Hindu woman' because of the details of the case. When Hindu men are in a relationship with non-Hindu women, there are cases where the man is forced to convert his religion and upon his refusal to do so, the family of the non-Hindu partner attacks the victim. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu woman known to the victim. Somewhere along the relationship, the non-Hindu woman or her family starts forcing/pressurizing the Hindu man to convert. In some of these cases, the association could be non-consensual as well or, the religious identity of the non-Hindu woman could be previously unknown to the Hindu victim. In such cases, the Hindu man is first forced/pressurized to change his religion by the non-Hindu woman’s family. The force/pressure could involve threats. The trigger for directing violence against the Hindu man is in these cases his refusal to comply and change his religion under threat and/or force. In other cases that have been documented, it is also seen that the Hindu partner is assaulted by the family of the non-Hindu woman simply for his relationship with the non-Hindu woman and by virtue of him following the Hindu faith and not the religion of the non-Hindu woman. In such cases, the relationship is consensual in most cases and the religion of both partners is known to the other. Often, in such cases, there is no direct force/pressure to convert either, however, the attack is a result of the Hindu man being in a relationship with the non-Hindu partner and not following her religion/following Hinduism specifically. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. In this case, the Hindu youths were assaulted and threatened by the family of the Muslim women simply for their relationship with them and by virtue of their following the Hindu faith. The Muslim women, who were adults in this case, had converted to Hinduism of their own will. The Muslim women's families viewed this as the primary source of disapproval and issued threats to the Hindu youths. In one case, the Muslim family also issued threats to the Pandit who had got the couple married as per Hindu customs. The Hindu youth's religious identity served as the catalyst for the assault and threat in this instance, suggesting that religious hatred was the driving force behind the crime.