New Delhi, Nov. 24 -- When a lie has been promoted loudly and frequently enough, it can become material for law.

That is the trajectory of the 'lovejihad' narrative, which claims that men from India's largest minority community lure women of the majority community into marriage in order to have them convert to Islam as part of a conspiracy to change the country's demographic balance.

The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh must be given the credit for leading other Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states, such as Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana and Assam, in the decision to promulgate a law against lovejihad. Bihar is inclining that way too.

Predictably, Opposition states have strongly criticized the decision in terms that emphasize its unc...