Who citizens marry is not a matter for the government

The Maharashtra government’s decision to form a committee to monitor marriages between people belonging to different faiths is wrong and a violation of civil rights. The government first decided to bring inter-faith and inter-caste marriages under the purview of the committee, but later abolished inter-caste marriages. It was at this point that he noticed that state policy encouraged inter-caste marriages. But the committee’s original plans showed the government’s thinking about marriage beyond caste and religion. The committee will gather information on couples involved in interfaith marriages, and on matrilineal families where women have separated. The 13-member committee will oversee women’s initiatives at the district level. Comprising representatives from the governmental and non-governmental sectors, the committee will serve as a platform for women and their families to seek advice and resolve issues.

Although the committee claims to be a committee designed to look after women’s welfare, it is actually an adversarial committee. The murder of Mumbai resident Shraddha Walker in Delhi by his common-law partner Aftab Poonawala gave the government a ruse to make the decision. But religion didn’t come into their relationship, either in life or after death, murder is wrong from a religious point of view. For every woman murdered by a partner from another community, there are thousands killed by a partner from the same religion. Why doesn’t the committee oversee the lives of all couples? There is no data to suggest that women in interreligious marriages are at greater risk of any kind than others. State Minister Mangal Lodha said Shraddha Walker’s parents did not know about the murder until six months later. Doesn’t this happen in same faith marriages or common-law relationships?

The government is not looking into the lives of couples, it is looking into the lives of any group of people or individuals. People enter into marriages or other relationships on their own initiative, and the law recognizes and grants people the right to do so. It would be a violation of privacy if a government-appointed committee looked at and monitored marriages. The Maharashtra Board is just a means to stop inter-religious marriages or relationships and a tactic to harass those who get into it. This is a “love jihad” scam. When the government starts to censor relationships, it will reduce itself to the level of khap panchayat. It should actually welcome marriage and more social interaction between people of different religions and communities so that society becomes more inclusive.