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Book Examines India’s Suspicion of Hindu-Muslim Couples and Love-Jihad Cases
Ismat Ara’s book looks at why some people in India distrust relationships between Hindu and Muslim couples.
She visited Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh to speak with police officers.
She wanted to learn how cases involving alleged forced religious conversion are handled.
The police chief said there had been no convictions under the relevant law so far.
He also said families sometimes call an adult daughter’s chosen elopement a kidnapping when they disapprove.
At the same time, police described cases in which men allegedly hid their real names or religion.
Sambhal was already tense because a court had ordered a survey of an old mosque.
Protests over that order became violent, showing how quickly religious disagreements can affect public safety.
The book presents both the legal concerns and the social and political pressures surrounding these relationships.
Journalist Ismat Ara’s book investigates suspicion surrounding Hindu-Muslim relationships in India.
In Sambhal, police officials said there had been no convictions under the forced-conversion law since its 2021 introduction.
Superintendent of Police Krishan Bishnoi said families often initially report consensual elopements involving adult women as kidnapping.
Police and officials also described allegations that some Muslim men conceal their identities before forming relationships with Hindu women.
Tensions in Sambhal intensified after a 2024 survey order concerning the Shahi Jama Masjid, followed by protests, deaths, injuries and an internet shutdown.
- Who
- Journalist Ismat Ara, Sambhal Superintendent of Police Krishan Bishnoi, local police, families and Hindu-Muslim couples.
- What
- A book excerpt examines suspicion of Hindu-Muslim relationships and how Uttar Pradesh police handle alleged forced-conversion and related cases.
- Where
- Sambhal district, Uttar Pradesh, India, particularly the police headquarters in Bahjoi and the Shahi Jama Masjid area.
- When
- Ara visited Sambhal in May 2025; the forced-conversion ordinance took effect in early 2021, and the mosque survey order came in late 2024.
- Why
- The journalist sought to understand how the law operates in practice and why relationships between the two communities can become politically and communally charged.
Concerns About Misuse and Political Pressure
Arguments About Protection and Alleged Deception
How relationships become criminal cases
Concerns About Misuse and Political Pressure
Bishnoi acknowledged that families may report an adult woman’s voluntary elopement as kidnapping when they oppose the relationship. The account also describes political pressure to act quickly in cases involving Hindu women and Muslim men.
Arguments About Protection and Alleged Deception
Police officials said some cases involve disputed consent, alleged coercion or financial exploitation, and should be treated as women-related crimes requiring urgent investigation.
Identity and religious disclosure
Concerns About Misuse and Political Pressure
The account raises concerns that ordinary interfaith relationships can be recast as communal or forced-conversion cases, especially in areas with hostility between communities.
Arguments About Protection and Alleged Deception
Bishnoi described allegations that some men use neutral names, such as “Raju,” and disclose their Muslim identity only after a relationship has developed.
Law enforcement and politics
Concerns About Misuse and Political Pressure
The journalist portrays officers as balancing legal duties with pressure from politicians, activists, media and senior officials, potentially affecting how complaints are registered and pursued.
Arguments About Protection and Alleged Deception
The Uttar Pradesh government presents women’s safety measures, including anti-Romeo squads, helplines and women’s police stations, as efforts to provide women security and rights.
Key facts
- Book
- Under A Saffron Sky: Inside India’s Crackdown On Love
- Author
- Ismat Ara
- Location visited
- Sambhal district, Uttar Pradesh
- Police official interviewed
- Superintendent of Police Krishan Bishnoi
- Forced-conversion law
- The ordinance came into effect in early 2021; Bishnoi said there had been no convictions yet in Sambhal.
- Mosque dispute
- A local court ordered an archaeological survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in late 2024 after claims it stood over temple ruins.
- Resulting unrest
- Protests followed the survey order, with deaths, dozens of injuries, tear gas and an overnight internet shutdown.
Quotes
Lucknow station house officer
Police station house officer describing political pressure in cases involving Hindu-Muslim couples
“Look, when it’s a matter involving a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy, especially under charges like rape or concealment of identity, we have to be very strict. The woman’s side almost always triggers immediate political involvement. If we don’t file a chargesheet fast, we’re questioned.”
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“Yes, yes! Exactly! That’s how most of these begin. Kidnapping is the first word. Even when the girl is above 18, even if she has run away by choice, if the family disagrees, it’s kidnapping.”
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Sources
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