The Maharashtra government has formed a committee to study and gather information on intercaste and interfaith marriages. The 12-member committee has been named as Intercaste/Interfaith Marriage-Family Coordination Committee. Headed by the state’s Women and Child Development Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the committee will comprise government officials along with people from the non-government sector.
This committee will gather and analyse information about couples in such marriages, as well as the women’s maternal families, to determine if they are estranged. The panel will contact the women’s families to inquire about the status of the marriage and to offer to counsel if the interfaith marriage was done against their will. In addition, the committee will gather information on marriages performed in religious places and ascertain whether such marriages were registered.
The committee also intends to launch a platform to address issues that arise from such marriages.
It is also worth noting that the Maharashtra government is considering introducing legislation in the upcoming winter session of the state assembly to prohibit forcible religious conversions and ‘Love Jihad’ in the state. Reportedly, the law will be modeled after the UP government, and those found guilty will be jailed for 3-5 years. If the victim is a minor or belongs to a scheduled caste, the punishment will be harsher.
In a press briefing, BJP MLA and Maharashtra’s Women and Child Development minister said that this initiative intends to prevent a repeat of the Shraddha Walkar murder case wherein the victim Shraddha was strangulated and chopped into 35 pieces by her Muslim live-in partner Aftab Amin Poonawala.
“It’s frightening that Shraddha Walkar’s family was unaware she died six months ago… We don’t want another Shraddha Walkar, which is why the committee is being formed to ensure that women in such marriages are not separated from their families,” Minister Lodha said.
