Opinion: People have freedom to choose their partners

Yet sadly, choice of spouses is the affair of everyone except the couple themselves in our society. Parents, relatives and caste leaders are the match makers here. Arranged marriages give little room to the couple to exercise their own choices.

In Meghalaya recently, a male assistant teacher attached to a Presbyterian Church married a woman from a different denomination of the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, he was terminated from service by the school.

Thereafter, the Meghalaya High Court came down heavily upon this and not only reinstated the teacher in service but also imposed a compensation amount of Rs 50,000 on the employer.

Kousalya, the victim of honour killing of her late husband Shankar, remarried one Shakti, who was her Parai drum playing mentor, on December 9 last year.

It was an inter-caste and self-respect marriage of a widow, and an appreciable bonding. However, shortly, Shakti was accused of being a womaniser, a cheat, and such. Similarly, Kousalya was accused of being insensitive to the woman victim of Shakti. Thereafter, to the shock of law abiding citizens, a Kangaroo Court was constituted. The couple were tried there and the verdict directed Sakhti to refrain from playing Parai for six months, besides imposing a Rs 3 lakh fine. In fact, the verdict also allows for an appeal against its direction!

In Arumugam Servai case, the Supreme Court categorically stated, that “the caste system is a curse on the nation and the sooner it is destroyed the better.

In fact, it is dividing the nation at a time when we have to be united to face the challenges before the nation unitedly. Hence, inter-caste marriages are in fact in the national interest as they will result in destroying the caste system”.

The apex court also directed the administration/police authorities to ensure that inter-caste couple are not harassed, nor subjected to threats or acts of violence. Anyone who threatens or harasses, or commits acts of violence either himself or at his instigation, will face criminal prosecution.

Despite their constitutional rights and reiteration by the Supreme Court and various other high courts against the caste system, our society is being polarised by caste.

There are caste-based organisations that are promoted even among the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) living abroad and those who have opted foreign citizenship. Caste has permeated geographical, educational and linguistic divides.

We need another renaissance and committed youth willing to break the caste barriers and tie marital knots across all castes, creeds, religions and race. Inter-caste, inter-religious and inter-racial marriages should become the norm for a harmonious oneness of our society.

National and inter-national unity can only be forged with such marital bonds. Peace and harmony can be ensured and bloodshed be avoided with the love jihad of such intermingling of castes, religions and races. Hope 2019 and thereafter will make this ideal a reality.

—The writer isSenior Advocate,Madras High Court