Saif Ali Khan says, 'love jihad' is a complication created in India

New Delhi: The controversy which sparked in Uttar Pradesh largely by the name of 'Love Jihad', saw many political parties openly debating on it, while some outfits used it as a ploy for gaining mileage in the bypolls. Seldom did we hear a celebrity speaking on an issue which literally raged and angered the nation.

Bollywood royal blood Saif Ali Khan in an exclusive opinion column for a leading daily wrote on the subject, which he feels close to his heart. The chhote Nawab distinctly talked about inter-caste marriages, following a particular religion and his disbelief on 'Love Jihad'.

Saif in his op-ed has at length described how inter-caste marriages were not new in his family.His mother veteran actress Sharmila Tagore and father MAK Pataudi too faced severe criticism from people before tying the knot. He said that problems rose form both the sides of the family—the Royals and the Brahmins. Saif was quick to add that we all grew up on real-life romantic stories AND were brought up to believe that god is one, with many names.

He then wrote about how even he faced trouble while marrying Kareena Kapoor Khan. He revealed that initially they too had to go through a lot, with certain extremists taking potshots at them on the internet and giving them death threats. But they braved it and today are a happy married couple. The 44-year-old actor quipped that both Kareena and him follow their own respective spiritual practices, while respecting each other's views. He added that we would like our children to be brought up in a similar manner.

The suave actor opined that how people misunderstand Islam, and twist it according to their own ulterior motives. Saif said that he doesn't quite understand what the concept of 'love jihad' is, and believed that intermarriages are not 'love jihad'. He stressed upon it saying that he too is a product of one such successful marriage.

The actor in his write-up has described how each and everyone has the right to practice their own religion, without really making any conversion. He gave out that intermarriage is not jihad, rather it is India, where a mix exists.