Inter-faith couple’s kin isolate themselves after marriage halted
LUCKNOW : After an inter-faith marriage was halted on police intervention in the state capital on Wednesday night, the families of the couple isolated themselves in their houses here since Thursday.
Suspecting every passer-by before opening their doors, they have been reluctant in talking to the media and social activists approaching them.
While halting the marriage of a 21-year-old Hindu woman with a 24-year-old Muslim man, the police had cited violation of the new law against forced and dishonest religious conversions. The new law, Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance-2020, had received the governor’s assent on November 28.
Before the police intervention, the two families had mutually agreed to solemnise their marriage with Hindu rituals first and later conduct it in accordance with Muslim rituals. The two families were asked to follow the proper process for an inter-faith marriage by applying for permission from the district magistrate.
A friend of the groom’s family, requesting anonymity, said the two lower-middle class families stayed in the same colony developed by the district urban development agency (DUDA) here.
“Their houses are barely at a distance of 15 metres in the same colony and love blossomed between them, while they were living there for the past few years and they decided to get married. Their families also agreed recently, after which the marriage was scheduled on Wednesday night,” he stated.
“Everything was going well till Wednesday night. The groom was following each and every ritual done in Hindu marriages, like tying turmeric bud on the wrists. The bride’s family had made arrangements for the wedding feast. They had invited their relatives and friends. But suddenly the police intervention halted the rituals. The two families were then summoned to the Para police station and told about the new law,” he added.
He also said the two families had discussed the matter but had not applied for the marriage permission yet. He said they were planning to engage a lawyer and apply together for the permission next week.
Another local said the bride’s family had spent around ₹85,000 to make all the arrangements, but all of it went in vain.
Madhu Garg, state president of the All India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA), criticised the incident and stated that the country’s constitution allowed everybody to follow any religion. She said police intervention in private affairs was like violating the privacy of the two families.
Garg said AIDWA workers visited the two families on Friday, but they were not ready to interact.
“After much reluctance, the woman’s family stated they have sorted out the issue and there is no pressure from police or administration to cancel the marriage. But it seemed that they had fear of some local activists on whose complaint the police had halted the marriage,” she added.
However, additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP), South, Suresh Chandra Rawat had earlier said the police had not intervened in anybody’s personal affair, but the two families had been suggested to proceed according to the new law to avoid any inconvenience in the future.