Having lost all their belongings in north-east Delhi violence, 19-year old Rukhsar’s family found themselves helpless when the groom’s parents cancelled the wedding as “there was nothing left to pay the dowry.” It was then that 23-year old Feroze, who works with an app-based food delivery service, stepped in and agreed to marry his cousin to “save the family’s honour.”

“The wedding was scheduled for March 3. But since the communal clash broke out, the groom’s family snapped all contact with us. On March 1, when we somehow managed to get through, the groom’s family asked about the dowry and refused to understand our situation,” said Feroze, a resident of Krishna Nagar.

Feroze then readily agreed to marry Rukshar and the wedding took place at the relief camp on the same date.

Sitting next to his newly-wed wife at the Al Hind Hospital relief camp, he added: “After the wedding got cancelled, it was important for someone to stand up as her family’s honour was at stake. So I agreed to the proposal when my relatives asked me.”

Rukhsar’s family was left homeless when their house in Shiv Vihar was torched by a mob on February 25. The family has been at the Al Hind relief camp since then.

A reason to smile

With the wedding, residents of the relief camp, which has been set up inside the hospital, now have something to celebrate as well.

Fatima, a resident of Shiv Vihar who took refuge at the relief camp, said, “The last 10 days have been very exhausting for us. We lost everything within minutes and are literally left with nothing. This wedding at least gave us a chance to smile for the first time in so many days.”