The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) vice-chairman George Kurian has written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah stating that Christian girls in Kerala are increasingly becoming the target of “Love Jihad”, reports Times of India.
According to the report, George Kurian, the vice-chairman of the NCM in his letter on Monday drew the attention of Home Minister Amit Shah by informing him about the complaint of a father from Kozhikode in Kerala who has alleged that attempts were being made to convert his daughter to Islam by blackmailing her.
He issued a statement saying “the spate in organised religious conversion and using the victims for terror activities by trapping them through ‘love jihad’ has shown that the Christian community is a soft target for Islamic radicals.”
In the letter, he reportedly urged the Home Ministry to “take note of this alarming trend and order a probe by the National Investigative Agency” and bring in an effective law to curb such fraudulent activities of radicalised elements.
Reportedly, the letter comes after NCM received complaints from two Christian families. In one such incident that occurred in Kerala’s Kozhikode, a Christian college student was allegedly raped and the act was filmed by the accused to force the victim to convert to Islam. As she refused to convert, there were attempts made to abduct her from the hostel she was staying in.
“The fears expressed by the parents are not misplaced, given the experiences in similar cases in the past. Reports suggest that out of 21 persons who joined the ISIS from Kerala, five were converted from Christianity,” said Kurian.
Kurian cited the data published by Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference’s Commission for Social Harmony and Vigilance, which states, “around 4,000 girls have been subjected to conversion since 2005 (till 2012) after they fell in love.” It is notable here that for several years now, Christian priests and leaders have been claiming that an increasing number of Christian girls are becoming the target for ‘Love jihad’.
Such incidents which may hamper the religious harmony of the state should be taken seriously, said George Kurian while seeking NIA probe to the incident.