Love Jihad in Ladakh: Zanskar Buddhist Association writes to SDM seeking anti-conversion law to maintain social harmony
LADAKH: larmed by sporadic incidents of abduction of Buddhist girls and elopement, the Zanskar Buddhist Association (ZBA) has demanded that an anti-conversion law should be passed in the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh at the earliest. In a three-page letter sent to Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Zanskar, the association has said it was important that such a law is enacted speedily in the UT for the prevalence of social harmony and cordial relations among different communities.
It bears mention here that the Buddhists and Shia Muslims are predominant in the Ladakh region, with Leh district being considered a stronghold of Buddhists and Kargil that of Shias. Zanskar is an important sub-division of the Kargil district, very remote and one of the least accessible areas of Ladakh, particularly during winters.
In its letter, the association has said: “We would also like to request the concerned authorities for the enactment of any Anti – Conversion Law or anti-love jihad law in the UT, Ladakh, as doing this will help us maintain the communal harmony of the region. We request the concerned authorities for bringing in stringent law against forcible conversion through marriage or allurement. Once this law is put in practice at the UT, Ladakh, we believe that the all the illegal activities under the Love-Jihad will immediately come to end.
“And the elements who were trying to earn any benefit from such Lured Marriages will also face a defeat. In the interest of maintaining communal harmony of the region and in the larger interest of the peaceful co-existence, it is absolutely necessary to restore the Buddhist girl to the family and take strict action to prohibit any such forcible conversion by marriage or by pre – planned love jihad.’’
Buddhist Girl Missing
Due to the change in demography in recent years, the Buddhist community is feeling the pinch even in Leh district where its writ ran till about two decades ago. As a result, it has become more protective as also assertive about its customs, traditions and way of life. The conversion of some Buddhist girls from Ladakh over the last few years after marriages with Muslims has sharpened the sense of loss among the community, according to elders.
The need for writing this letter arose after a young Buddhist girl Yangdol went missing from her home in Zanskar some days ago. In its letter, the Zanskar Buddhist Association (ZBA) has raised the issue of alleged abduction and forced religious conversion of a young Buddhist woman from the region, calling it a part of a broader pattern of love jihad. The association has urged for immediate intervention to rescue the woman and the enactment of stringent anti-conversion laws in the Union Territory of Ladakh to protect communal harmony.
The letter, dated January 15, 2026, has been addressed to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Zanskar Sub-Division. It says that Stanzin Yangdol, a Buddhist girl from Zanskar who has been missing for several days. According to the ZBA, her parents informed the association that exhaustive searches and inquiries with friends and relatives have yielded no leads, leading them to suspect she has been kidnapped by unknown individuals intent on wrongfully confining her against her will.
Fraudulent Conversion
The organisation wrote, “We write this letter to respectfully draw your attention to a matter of serious public concern involving the alleged misuse of marriage as a means to fraudulently convert girls belonging to the Buddhist community into another religion. There are strong and reasonable grounds to believe that, in multiple instances, marriages are being preceded or accompanied by religious conversion of Buddhist girls, not by their free, voluntary, and informed consent, but through deception, coercion, inducement, or misrepresentation.”
The letter says: “We write this letter to respectfully draw your attention to a matter of serious public concern involving the alleged misuse of marriage as a means to fraudulently convert girls belonging to the Buddhist community into another religion. There are strong and reasonable grounds to believe that, in multiple instances, marriages are being preceded or accompanied by religious conversion of Buddhist girls, not by their free, voluntary, and informed consent, but through deception, coercion, inducement, or misrepresentation.”
Further, it stated: “We have strong reason to believe that these incidents appear to follow a consistent and pre-planned pattern, giving rise to a reasonable apprehension of an organized conspiracy aimed at altering the religious identity of girls from a particular community”. ZBA accuses perpetrators of luring girls with systematic misinformation, manipulating their perceptions of reality, and exploiting vulnerabilities through psychological tactics, rendering victims unable to escape or contact their families.
Impartial Inquiry
The association points out that if such marriages of Buddhist girls with Muslim men were genuinely based on mutual consent and do not involve any religious pressure, they can be solemnised under the Special Marriage Act. The organisation noted that in all such cases, the religion of the girl is only changed, and the men never change the religion. “This one-sided and repetitive pattern raises serious concerns regarding the voluntariness, legality, and bona fides of such conversions. The gravity and sensitivity of the issue therefore warrant immediate attention and impartial scrutiny by the competent authorities,” the letter states.
The association urges authorities and Muslim community leaders and others to sensitise Muslims to refrain from practicing love jihad, saying that it could lead to communal unrest. It warns that young women from the Buddhist community are being continuously lured into marriage for the purpose of religious conversion, potentially disturbing the region’s communal harmony.
In addition to demanding the safe return of Stanzin Yangdol to her family, the ZBA called for penalizing forcible or fraudulent religious conversions through marriage or allurement. It has also specifically requested the enactment of a stringent “Anti-Conversion Law or Anti-Love Jihad Law” in Ladakh UT, arguing that such measures would help maintain peace.
The letter also asks for the immediate registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against the accused under sections 138, 127, 318, 69, 87, and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.”We strictly request you to take immediate steps to restore the girl to the family and arrange for bringing her back to the Buddhist community before this protest takes an ugly turn,” the letter warns, adding a plea to stop any forcible conversion by anti-social elements through stringent laws.
Signed by ZBA president Tsering Dorjay, copies of the letter were sent to high-ranking officials, including the Lt. Governor of Ladakh, the Administration of UT Ladakh.