How PFI has turned ‘Love Jihad’ into ‘Land Jihad’ in Jharkhand

To dodge Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act, members of the outfit trap tribal girls into marriage and enjoy their property after eliminating them.

Ranchi, Dec 24: Radical Islam seems to have made deep inroads in Jharkhand and cases of 'jihad' in different forms are trickling in from the State alarmingly frequently. The recent brutal murder of a tribal woman by her Muslim husband in Sahibganj district is a case in point.

The sequence of events came to light when Sahibganj police arrested the accused Dildar Ansari, who admitted that his family members were also involved in the murder plot. He also admitted that he killed his 22-year-old wife Rubika due to the dispute over his first marriage which she was not aware of before her marriage to Ansari.

As per reports, Ansari trapped Rubika in a love affair without revealing to her about his previous marriage. After the first wife came to know about the second marriage, she started instigating Ansari to eliminate her. Under constant pressure from his own family and the frequent fights with his first wife, Ansari plotted to kill Rubika.

Strangely, apart from his first wife, his brother and sister, even members of his extended family like his maternal uncle too helped him in committing the crime. Ansari has admitted that his maternal uncle was instrumental in hatching the murder plot. After killing Rubika, he used an electric cutter to cut her body into 50 pieces. The matter came to light when the locals found a few stray dogs pouncing on a polythene bag containing the body parts.

Spike in Love Jihad cases

This is not the only case that has happened in the recent past nor is Rubika the first tribal women to be trapped in the realms of Love Jihad. In the last few years, this kind of incidents have proven to be the modus operandi of the members of banned Popular Front India (PFI), an organisation of radical Muslims involved in subversive activities throughout the country.

The PFI is now using these Love Jihad cases to further its agenda of 'Land Jihad'. According to sources, members of this group have acquired around 10,000 acres of landed property which originally belonged to the tribals earlier. They have turned it into a tactic of land-grabbing by marrying the tribal girls and appropriating the land they won after eliminating them.

PFI's 'Land Jihad' agenda

As per the documents seized from PFI during the nationwide raids after its ban, the outfit is working towards converting India into an Islamic country and implement the Sharia laws here. Its document "India Vision 2047" reads: "From all the cadres who are being given PE, those with talent are to be spotted and recruited to be given advanced training on weapons including firearms and explosives."

"Meanwhile, Party should utilise concepts such as 'National Flag', 'Constitution' and 'Ambedkar' to shield the real intention of establishing an Islamic rule and reach out to SCs/STs/OBCs. We would reach out to the executive and judiciary and strive to infiltrate our members at all levels to gather information and get favourable outcomes in matters of our interest. Further, liaisoning is to be established with foreign Islamic countries for funding and other help." This text is part of Stage 2 of the plan unearthed during the raids.

Modus operandi

The States having high tribal populations have separate provisions for tribals in their tenancy Acts. Jharkhand too has got a similar one, known as Chota Nagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act, also called Santhal Pargana Act. It prohibits sale and purchase of land that belongs to the tribal community to outside people though they can do it within the community. To dodge this kind of law, the PFI devise the plan to trap and marry a tribal girl, after which they can simply get rid of her and enjoy her property.

Many incidents of this kind have been reported in the past and the trend has picked up since 2018, according to media reports. Raising the issue, former Chief Minister Raghubar Das has pointed out 8 cases having such a background which have taken place in and around Jamshedpur.

Speaking on the matter, Union Minister Giriraj Singh has demanded a law against such tactical conversions and asked the government to bring Muslims under caste census. He accused Muslims of taking advantage of the loopholes in the Act and demanded stricter laws. Pointing out a rise in Love Jihad and Land Jihad cases, he accused the Hemant Soren government of Muslim appeasement.