Mumbai: While claims of love jihad by right-wing organisations have attracted a lot of flak from various sections of society, Sanatan Sanstha, in 2011, had published a book on the controversial issue. It has also produced a ‘rate card’, on the basis of which Muslim boys are supposedly paid money to marry Hindu girls.
The book claims the cash reward differs on the basis of caste and region. For example, the organisation claims that a Muslim youth marrying a Sikh girl is paid the highest amount while the one marrying a Buddhist girl gets the lowest.
However, the source of Sanatan’s claims is dubious. In the book, Sanatan has claimed that the rate card was announced by the ‘Muslim Youth Form’. When contacted, a Sanatan spokesperson claimed it was taken from the website of the forum. However, this newspaper did not find any such website.
While there is a Facebook page titled ‘Muslim Youth Forum’, it does not have any mention of love jihad or rate cards. After the arrest of Sanatan member Sameer Gaikwad in connection with the killing of rationalist Govind Pansare, the organisation once again came under the scanner.
Quoting the ‘Muslim Youth Forum’, the Sanatan alleged it was funding Muslims to lure Hindu girls into marriage.
The rate card that they have attributed to the forum reads, “The boy will get Rs 7 lakh for marrying a Sikh girl, Rs 6 lakh for Punjabi and Gujarati Brahmin girls, Rs 5 lakh for a Brahmin girl, Rs 4.5 lakh for a Kshatriya girl, Rs 3 lakh for Gujarati Kacchi, Jain and Marwadi girls, Rs 2 lakh for a backward class girl and Rs 1.5 lakh for a Buddhist girl.”
Sanatan spokesperson Abhay Vartak said, “A Muslim website had published the rate card.” However he did not elaborate on the website.
