'Land Jihad' the Latest Catchphrase in UP Politics? RSS Sounds Alarm, Plans 'Awareness Drive' in Rural Areas

‘Land Jihad’, and not ‘Love Jihad’, is Uttar Pradesh’s most pressing issue, according to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which has conveyed as much to senior BJP leaders and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at a recent meeting.

Like the so-called ‘love jihad’, a reference to marriages between Muslim men and Hindu women, the phrase ‘land jihad’ is quickly coming up to speed in Uttar Pradesh’s political vocabulary, though the Yogi Adityanath government is yet to comment on it.

The phrase has been in use since 2017, coined by Hindutva proponents to refer to Muslims settling down in Hindu-majority areas and constructing mosques or madrasas in the vicinity.

A senior cleric from the state told News18 that ‘land jihad’ came to be coined during a protest in Meerut district in 2017. The protest was led by local BJP leaders along with activists of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in Hindu-dominated Chahashor Mohalla against one Nauman Ahmed and his family. A mob of around 200 people across age groups gathered in the otherwise peaceful locality when Ahmed’s family tried to take possession of their newly bought house.

“They accused the family of doing ‘land jihad’. With no option left, the family had to leave their property as they didn’t want to give a simple property deal a communal colour,” the Maulana said.

Incidentally, this was the same year the BJP returned to power in the state after 14 years and Yogi Adityanath became the Chief Minister. Since then, the phrase has been quite popular in UP politics.

Speaking against the promotion of “notions” like ‘land jihad’, S Mohammed Haider, a senior lawyer from Lucknow, said: “The recently talked about and much-hyped notion of ‘land jihad’ goes against the very tenets of our democratic system and tends to tear apart the secular fabric of our nationhood. It is a violation of an individual’s right to property, a constitutional right assured to every Indian under article 300A of the Indian Constitution. The article provides that ‘no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law’. Therefore, it becomes imperative for all those furthering this divisive agenda to understand the constitutional mandate before adverting on to their divisive agenda.”

For the Sangh Parivar, the so-called ‘land jihad’ is a grave enough issue to merit a word of caution and to press an army of volunteers to create awareness among the people. According to the RSS, it is “quite rampant” in the rural pockets of UP, especially the ones along the India-Nepal border.

The RSS and affiliated groups believe these are not simple land deals but a conspiracy.

“Land jihad is purely a conspiracy and not a simple land deal. Under this, Muslims purchase the land in Hindu-dominated localities. They then make their relatives move to the localities, eventually forcing Hindus to vacate the area. It starts with one house and slowly the entire area becomes Muslim-dominated,” an RSS functionary said.

Several BJP leaders, too, have cited this as an issue in the past. In 2021, senior party leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed a political rally in Assam, assuring a legislation against ‘land jihad’. The party promises similar laws in his election manifesto as well.

In his recent meeting with BJP leaders and Yogi Adityanath, Mohan Bhagwat is said to have raised the issue, besides discussing the so-called ‘love jihad’ and other matters that could play a part in the Lok Sabha elections.

In the meeting, RSS functionaries are said to have conveyed that lands are being “grabbed” from Hindus to build mosques, mazhars and dargahs in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, especially along the border with Nepal. The RSS called for an awareness drive in rural areas against ‘love jihad’ and ‘land jihad’.

The RSS is planning to launch a drive in November in ‘Awadh Prant’, that includes Lucknow. It will also likely organise a seven-day workshop titled ‘Prathmik Shiksha Varg’ in October. In the workshop, volunteers would be trained to expand the Sangh’s reach in rural areas and create awareness among the rural population against ‘land jihad’ and ‘love jihad’.

Interestingly, the UP government is yet to comment on the so-called issue of ‘land jihad’.