Inter Caste Marriages A Changing Scenario

Allahabad High Court: In a case of inter-caste marriage, the Court directed the  Senior Superintendent of Police concerned to provide necessary and immediate protection to the couple if anyone disturbs their peaceful living. The petitioners approached the Court seeking a writ of Mandamus in order to prevent the respondents from interfering in their peaceful married life. The petitioners contended that they are adults and married each other of their own free will but they have been harassed for that.

The Court accepted the precedent set in previous cases and observed that if the persons getting married are major and are marrying of their own free will then the parents of such persons can only cut them off socially. They have no right to harass or commit violence. There is no ‘honor’ to be found in ‘honor killing’. Therefore any person involved in such acts shall be sternly prosecuted. The Court further directed the petitioners to register their marriage under the Uttar Pradesh Marriages Registration Rules, 2017 within two months from the date of this order, failing which the order would stand vacated.

Inter caste marriages are known to break the barriers. Times have changed and so have the people! To marry a person in India belonging to a different caste or religion is no more a matter of life and death anymore. An Inter Caste Marriage as the name suggests, is a union between the people of two different castes. Here people get married with or without changing their caste or religion. It has taken a lot of effort and time for such marriages to gain acceptance in society. Certain aspects that have brought this reform are :

Changing Mindsets : In earlier times, it was common to think that if one gets married to a person of a different caste then they would land up in hell. But with the spread of education and modern thinking, now people have become open to the idea of love marriages between different communities and castes. Honor killings that used to take place have also reduced and now a girl and boy can get married without thinking about getting killed by their kin.

Efforts Put In By Government : The growing acceptance of inter caste marriage and encouragement given to them is remarkable. Even the government rewards the people for it. There are efforts made to educate people about it. It's established that the success of a marital relation is based on the mutual understanding of the partners and not on their matching castes. There are still attempts made in the rural areas to educate people about it but it is a tough job there, even till date.

But if we have a look at the old times, then there has been a great change. All of this is due to the spread of education, awareness, exposure to the outer world and will of the new generations to change. Thus, inter-caste marriages are playing an important role in reforming our society.