Kolkata love marriage tragedy

The economy is booming, education is sky rocketing but the social mindset of the Indians is archaic. The age old categories like caste, class, gender and religion are still dominant in defining the cultural ethos of the fast moving Indian society. This is very central to the several prevailing social problems. The brutal murder of Rizwanur Rahaman a graphic teacher in Kolkata last month reiterates the dangerous trend. He is a Muslim boy from a lower middle class family from the city of joy. The crime of this innocent young man is to fall in love with Priyanka, a Hindu girl from a millionaire’s family. The love ended in a registered marriage. The religious and class variations between the bride and groom’s families did not allow the former’s parents to digest.

In the police station, Priyanka the daughter of Ashok Todi who owns million dollar Lux Hosieries firmly told that she got married to Rizwanur willingly. Using all the social and political connections, Ashok Todi made the police to file an abduction complaint despite the prima facie evidence was different. After understanding the complexities the police expressed their reluctance to proceed on the case. At this stage the criminal minds of the father and police worked in the murder angle. Within few hours they killed the 30 year old man and thrown him on the railway track. A suicide tag was given to the broad day light murder.

Initially the human plea of the family of the deceased went unheeded. When the media reported the cruel incident the news spread across the state. Sooner the government came under pressure to investigate. Now the CID investigation has been ordered and a special judge will probe the matter.

This is not an odd tragedy happening in Kolkata alone. Day in and day out one can hear such sad stories across the country. Few months back a Haryana village panchayat had ostracized a couple for the same gotra marriage. A couple was stoned to death in Uttar Pradesh few months back for inter-caste marriage.

It is a sociological curiosity to examine the quantum of such cases. If the research finding points out to a trend in the increasing opposition to inter-religious marriages then there is a least impact of education on the social mindsets of the people. So far there is no nationwide study to explore the correlation between religion, caste and marriages. Although the inter-caste marriage is common now than few decades back, inter-religious marriage is a taboo. Especially that between a Hindu and a Muslim is considered a crime.

If one crosses the religious angle, caste factor the class is the crucial blocking hurdle. Even if one fulfills all the criteria except the class then the trouble is big. This is more evident from the everyday social disputes arising from the inter-class marriages. The wealthy side of either bride or groom comes as a major blockade for the marriage.

Despite stringent laws allowing the people above eighteen years to decide upon their marriage, the government machineries are dead slow in responding. The innocent youth who understands only love are prevented from realizing their dreams because of the social factors. The police and other crucial State players go against the affected people.