Uttar Pradesh directs universities to form anti-conversion cells

Lucknow (Raghwendra Pratap Singh) : All state universities and higher educational institutions in Bharatiya Janata Party ruled Uttar Pradesh have been directed to set up “Dharmantaran Roktham cells” or anti-conversion cells.

A letter from Governor Anandiben Patel’s secretariat dated May 28 instructed vice chancellors, directors of all state universities and institutes, and higher educational institutions, including medical institutes, to strengthen counselling services, monitoring systems, student welfare mechanisms, reporting protocols and establish safeguards, the newspaper reported.

The directions came after allegations that students are being influenced through inducement, psychological pressure or other unethical means into religious conversion, the letter added.

The governor’s directive follows a series of investigations linked to Lucknow’s King George Medical University in the last two years in connection with claims of a “love jihad” network being run from its campus.

Love jihad is a Hindutva conspiracy theory that Muslim men trick Hindu women into romantic relationships with the aim of converting them to Islam. The Union home ministry has told Parliament that Indian law has no provision defining such a term.