These travails of the young in a country that makes much of the youth, or demographic, dividend are disquieting.
Feb 12, 2025 07:01 IST First published on: Feb 12, 2025 at 07:00 IST
The plight of two interfaith couples — one in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal and the other in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar — tells a story of the odds stacked against young people who follow their heart when prejudice is allowed free play in a climate of impunity. In the first instance, members of right-wing outfits beat up a Muslim man inside a district court in Bhopal when he went to register his marriage with his Hindu partner under the Special Marriage Act (SMA). Despite the incident being caught on camera, it is bizarre that the only arrest made was of the youth — on charges of “forced conversion”. In the second, personal details of the couple were put online, resulting in harassment and opposition not just from the girl’s family but also from conservative groups. Together, the incidents show the disturbing work of the spectre of “love jihad”, kept alive by the state’s increasing intrusion into the private lives of citizens through provisions such as Section 378 of Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which seeks to regulate live-in relationships, and by its tacit support for non-state actors to enforce ideological agendas.
As recently as December 2024, the Home Minister emphasised in the Rajya Sabha the Centre’s plans to implement the UCC in BJP-led states. In the name of “protection” and “equality” of women, cultures or communities, some of the provisions of the Uttarakhand UCC have been weaponised against individual freedoms. Likewise, provisions of the SMA, which require the couple to give a month’s notice to make room for public objections, can also be used to target interfaith couples. Reports in this paper have shown how vigilante networks sprang into action as soon as both couples tried to access legal mechanisms meant to safeguard them and their rights.
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These travails of the young in a country that makes much of the youth, or demographic, dividend are disquieting. From the gaps that stretch between aspirations and opportunities to the infantilisation of their choices — they are, all too often, denied the autonomy and agency that they require and deserve to realise their potential and seize their opportunities. The incidents in Bhopal and Udham Singh Nagar also frame the toll taken by a shunning of all that is ameliorating about a plural, multi-cultural society – the opening up of spaces, and the enriching of possibilities. The state must take cognisance and uphold the rule of law. It must show that it is committed to protecting, in words and deeds, every citizen’s right to choose their partners without fear of retribution, discrimination, or violence.
