The newly established Intercaste/Interfaith Marriage-Family Coordination Committee (state level) will only be tasked with gathering data on interfaith marriages, the Maharashtra government has determined in response to a report in this publication.
Intercaste/Interfaith Marriage-Family Coordination Committee
- Work under the Women and Child Development Ministry: The state’s Women and Child Development Ministry will oversee the renamed Interfaith Marriage-Family Coordination Committee.
- Will Track frauds: The committee purports to track fraud committed in the name of love jihad in addition to offering support and rehabilitation when necessary.
- Following the Shraddha Walkar case, which was made public in November, there was a development. Aaftab Poonawalla, Walkar’s live-in boyfriend, killed the 26-year-old in May 2022.
- Other states that have anti-conversion laws: States like Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have already passed anti-conversion laws.
What is jihad in love?
- Activists frequently refer to a Muslim man’s attempt to seduce a Hindu woman into marrying him as “love jihad” in order to make their case.
How the initiative will work?
- Will gather and preserve information about interfaith unions and guarantee communication: The ladies in intercaste/interfaith marriages and their families will have a forum to obtain counselling, communicate, and find solutions thanks to this programme.
- The committee will meet frequently: The committee’s duties include meeting with district authorities, reviewing work on seven factors, receiving data from stamp duty and registrar offices regarding interfaith or intercaste marriages, and gathering data on such registered or unregistered marriages, among other things.
Concerns
- Control over people’ lives: This level of vigilance is another another sign of the State’s excessively growing and wholly intolerable interest in, and desire for, control over citizens’ lives.
- Denying women’s own choice: This tacit rejection that a woman’s decision for a partner comes from her own free will and not as a result of coercion not only violates one’s rights to freedom and equality, but it also reeks of misogyny.
- Committee may be armed: The IPC is available for all legitimate complaints, allowing the committee to become armed.
- It will restrict both men’s and women’s freedoms: Monitoring a citizen’s life is a cautionary tale in every way, a limitation on men’s and women’s freedoms intended to stop them from living more fulfilling, freer lives.
Right to Marriage
- Under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, the right to marriage is a component of the right to life.
- As an essential component of the Right to Life: According to many courts across the nation, Article 21’s right to marriage is an essential component of the right to life.
- According to the Human Rights Charter: Within the context of the right to begin a family, the Human Rights Charter also states that the right to marriage is protected.
- The freedom to marry is a universal right that is available to all people, regardless of gender.
- Forced unions are forbidden: The freedom to marry is recognised by both Hindu and Muslim laws in India, and forced marriages are prohibited by several personal marriage laws.
How does the Constitution preserve the right to practise one’s religion?
- The right to “freely profess, practise, and promote religion” is protected under Article 25(1) of the Constitution.
- It is a privilege that ensures a negative liberty, which implies that the government must make sure that exercising this freedom is not impeded or interfered with.
- Like all fundamental rights, this one may be curtailed by the government for the sake of public order, morality, decency, or other state interests.
@the-end
Politics and communalism have long coexisted, therefore it would be absurd to try to limit that sense of possibility and openness by demeaning individual freedom of choice. To solve the problems caused by interfaith marriages, an original and inclusive strategy is required.