heySting by the then Chief Minister of Kerala VS Achuthanandan at a press meet held in New Delhi on 24 July 2010 comments With a dangerous proposition on the now-outlawed Popular Front of India – that the organization aims to convert non-Muslims into a Muslim-majority state within the next 20 years by luring them with money and through conversions. Origin of Sudipto Sen story of kerala, set to The May 5 release contained the same statement.
However, as the saying goes, context is everything, and the veteran comrade’s startling comments need to be put into perspective. Earlier that month, on 4 July 2010, PFI cadres carried out a Taliban-style attack (cross amputation of the right arm and left leg as prescribed in Islamic Shari’a) on a professor in Kerala, accusing him of being a prophet. . The sheer terror unleashed by this act on Kerala society was unparalleled, and Achuthanandan was Motivational The same duplication of PFI’s Independence Day ‘Independence Parade’.
Bizarre Figures from a ‘True Story’
Despite some demanding a ban on the film for inciting hatred, story of kerala , Dubbed a true story – ‘A’ certificate has been issued by censor board With a few tweaks, including the removal of the former CM’s comment Allegedly used in the film. What makes these ‘true story’ claims worse is that the bizarre figures – 32,000 Kerala women converted to Islam and trafficked – are being implicated, without any evidence to support them.
According to sen selfThe number has been derived by multiplying (wrongly) the figure quoted by another former chief minister, Oommen Chandy, on the floor of the Kerala Assembly in 2012, where he revealed that in a six-year period (2006–12), 2,667 women had converted to Islam. trailer Part of the film, which released on 26 April, describes it as a “compilation of true stories of three young girls from different parts of Kerala, a climb of sorts”. Sen himself has been giving media bytes – seemingly in a departure from his own past statements – making the most of the free publicity.
Sen is a repeat offender in this case. And he seems to have become obsessed with the story of women being trafficked from Kerala to the Islamic State. Back in 2018, Sen had a documentary Topic In the name of love!in which a similar figure is mentioned 32,000 Women are being trafficked from Kerala and Mangaluru to ISIS and Taliban-dominated areas abroad.
Beyond the outrageous statistics, which we shall revisit, Sen is merely reviving the ‘love jihad’ hoax, which was first introduced in Kerala 25 years ago as ‘Romeo Jihad’.
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Origin of ‘Love Jihad’
Contrary to popular belief that the coin originated in coastal Karnataka in 2007, the words Love Jihad/Romeo Jihad first appeared on the front page of the newspaper in October 1998. Kerala Kaumudi daily.
Wadayar Sunil, who was then a reporter and is now the coordinating editor, recalls writing the story after accessing a state intelligence report. Jacob Punnoos, then Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), North Zone, told me that “there was a pattern to certain incidents”, which forced the police to draw such a conclusion at the time.
While sensationalized, the love jihad theory went mainstream in Kerala in 2009 Case A case of a Christian and a Hindu woman eloping with their college seniors from Pathanamthitta hit the headlines. Punnoose had by then become the Director General of Police (DGP) and gave two affidavits in the case, ruling out love jihad, despite Justice KT Sankaran ruling the case as having merit in principle.
Punnoos recalled that the women, both MBA students, were first converted to Islam, after which their marriages were quickly facilitated to ensure they did not have to return to their parents. “Where is the question of love here?” He asked. It reminds me of the much hyped Hadiya incidentWhere Akhila alias Hadiya was first attracted to Islam and later the head of the women’s wing of PFI, A.S. Found a partner with the help of Sainaba.
In an earlier era, Kerala was famous for inter-faith campus love stories that culminated in lifelong alliances, which were considered progressive. And it was only organic for a cosmopolitan state with its renaissance movement and high indices to go down this road. However, like the rest of the country, much changed after 1992, following the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the subsequent growth of the PFI.
The love jihad theory was later revived in Kerala in June 2016 and became widely prevalent when came to light He 21 people – including Merin Jacob alias Maryam, Sonia Sebastian alias Ayesha and Nimisha alias Fatima – had left for ISIS after undergoing conversion and radicalisation.
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lies, damned lies and statistics
So, how many women from Kerala have joined ISIS or disappeared altogether?
According to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, of the estimated 100 Keralites who joined the terrorist organization, only 28 had left Kerala directly to join ISIS, while the other 72 had left Kerala. An enunch, Or flying to ‘Khalifa’ after going to work in the Persian Gulf and other countries. That being the case, it puts the outrageous figure of 32,000 (that too of converted women!) in context and exposes the filmmakers’ mischievous attempt to cast Kerala as a fertile recruiting ground for terrorists.
While some would say that even 100 Keralites getting radicalized is a very high number, it is a tiny minority of the total population. It only goes to show how the state has managed to avert the threat. It is only natural that global Malayalees came under the radar of ISIS before the terrorist organization cast its tentacles far and wide in the rest of India.
Thus, story of kerala Most likely will end up as a tool for the right wing to portray the state in a bad light – a case of sour grapes. It has been 13 years since Achuthanandan made a surprise statement at the Kerala House complex in New Delhi about the PFI’s plan to convert Kerala into a Muslim-majority state, in order to push the love jihad theory through the film. The extremist organization seems to have miserably failed to realize this as it was banned only last year.
The author is a Kerala-based journalist and columnist. He tweeted @AnandKochukudy. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)