AHMEDABAD: ‘Hindu daughters beware of love jihad’, read in Gujarati on a wall of the busy streets of Ahmedabad made this Kathak dancer shocked and therefore she decided to questioned the brazen threats scrolled all over the city through her daring step of dancing.
Avni Sethi, Kathak dancer and founder of Conflictorium deliberately chose the famous song, ‘Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya’ from the iconic film ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ because the song in itself is a trademark as a rebellion against the ‘enemies of love’.
Using the love-Jihad graffiti as her backdrop, Avni dared to dance at five such spots in the city to protest against the propaganda.
Speaking to Times of India, Avni expressed, “The graffiti is not only on these roads but many others as well,” said Avni. “These are not quiet streets but main roads bustling with people through most part of the day. They are in the heart of the city and to give such open threats within a city’s landscape is leading us to a path of politics that is largely based on fear.”
“Such propaganda is there on main roads for people to pick up the signs of what’s coming ahead. It is not only on these five roads that this graffiti has been put, it is also on many other roads,” she added.
Talking to National Herald from Ahmedabad, Avni said that she did not find it strange for a Muslim man and a Hindu woman fall in love with each other. “There have been Hindu men also who have been in love with Muslim women. But why should that be a problem? And why call it a Love Jihad?”
Love jihad, a phrase used by Hindutva fringe groups to protect the girls belonging to majority community by accusing the Muslim youths of tricking their girls to convert to Islam from Hinduism.