Intercaste Marriages Get Life Support

With the incidences of honour killing on the rise in the state, the activists pressing for inter-caste marriages are also gearing up for a fight back. Those who are helping the couples from different communities coming together are themselves coming together in the city to discuss the hideous crimes in recent past and ways to prevent them.

The state has seen two such incidences in the last two months both of which were in Satara district. In the first instance, a Dalit woman was dragged and beaten, also allegedly paraded naked in the village in the month of January. In another instance, a woman was killed by her own father for insisting on marrying outside her community.

On the other hand, some activists are actively encouraging the intercaste or interfaith couples. Members of Maharashtra Andhshraddha Nirmulan Samiti, who register or arrange such marriages are to converge in city on March 18 & 19 to spread awareness about such marriages.

"The idea is to tell people that intercaste marriage is not a shameful thing. The society has to accept it and shed inhibitions about losing one's reputation in the community,” said Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, executive president of MANS.

To imbibe this message, the conference is named as Amhi Purohit Antarjatiy Vivahache (We are priests of intercaste marriages) even though MANS does not encourage religious ceremony for marriage.

Dr. Dabholakr said that to make the interacaste marriages a success, the couples should to be provided four fold support. The couples should be encouraged to shed their caste orientations, they should be provided counseling and other services, there should be institutional system for the protection of these couples and finally the families of the couples should be made aware that these marriages are as natural as other marriages are.

"With this conference, we are doing the same. The members who are participating in the conference will also narrate how difficult it is for them to officiate such marriages and how they deal with such situations,” said Dr. Dabholkar.