Chingsanghoih Guite/ The Hauterfly
Chingsanghoih Guite/ The Hauterfly
Now that I am in my mid-twenties, almost every other day at the dinner table when me and my family sit down to break bread which is to eat, what I also find myself breaking into a sweat, for they touch on topic of marriage because why not. From discussing the kind of family they’d want me to marry into, to always dropping in advice about how to make nice with my future in-laws, they touch base on almost everything. And while they have been pretty accepting of everything that in our conversation, what they often raise an eyebrow on is when I discuss the possibility of inter-caste marriage. Kamalrukh, wife of Wajid Khan probably had the same kind of dinner table conversation.
Not that there is anything wrong with two people from different communities wanting to get married, but the kind of judgmental society we live in, it is far from making things easier, despite the love between the two. And a proof of such struggle is the latest revelation of Kamalrukh, the wife of late music composer Wajid Khan, who penned down the ordeal her 17 years of marriage with Wajid Khan had been. Of course, it seems like the right time to talk about something like this given that ‘love jihad’ is the flavour of the season.
Sharing how cruel and heartbreaking her marriage with the late composer had been, Kamalrukh went on to talk about the pressures of conversion that her in-laws often subjected her to, that ultimately led to her separation with the singer.
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Kamalrukh shared that she and Wajid were ‘college sweethearts’ who got married under the Special Marriages Act after a courtship of over 10 years. The act allowed her, a Parsi and him, a Muslim, to get married while practising their own religions. But soon after marriage she shared, she started getting pressure from his family to convert and when she refused, it caused a wide rift in her relationship with him and even ‘affected his ability’ to be a father to their kids.
She wrote, “Conversion was not a value system I believed in personally. It was also not the example of a deep set rotten patriarchy that I wanted to set for my beautifully evolved children- my 16 year old daughter Arshi and my 9 year old son Hrehaan.”
Continuing further she went on to share, “I fought this terrible way of thinking tooth and nail throughout my marriage. The result- being outcast from my husband’s family, scare tactics to make me convert included taking me to court seeking divorce. I was devastated, felt betrayed and was emotionally drained, but my children and I held on.”
Parsis are the genuine minority in this nation, they did not come as invaders they came as seekers and gently requested for mother India’s love. Their small population have hugely contributed to the beauty- growth and economy of this nation ( cont) https://t.co/5hkLcKSeEy
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) November 29, 2020
She is my friends widow a parsi woman who is being harassed by her family for conversion. I want to ask @PMOIndia minority that don’t do sympathy seeking drama, beheadings, riots and conversions, how are we protecting them? Parsis shockingly decreasing numbers ( cont.)
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) November 29, 2020
Today Kamalrukh who was deprived of everything – her husband, her love, and her dignity stands to fight for their children’s inheritance and it is a shame that belonging to a secular country, people are still frowned upon for inter-caste marriages or threatened to convert their religion. She even wrote, “I truly wish this anti- conversion law is nationalised, reducing the struggle for women like me who are fighting the toxicity of religion in inter caste marriages. We are bad mouthed, and labelled as being manipulative and greedy for standing our ground.”
Actress Kangana Ranaut also took to her social media to share her post and wrote in support, “She is my friends widow a parsi woman who is being harassed by her family for conversion. I want to ask @PMOIndia minority that don’t do sympathy seeking drama, beheadings, riots and conversions, how are we protecting them? Parsis shockingly decreasing numbers reveals India’s own character as a mother, child who does most drama unfairly gets most attention and advantages. And the one who is worthy, sensitive most caring and deserving ends up being a nanny to the one who keeps throwing fits…. we need to introspect.”
Now, we aren’t the ones to really speak about Kangana’s tweets, given that woman will talk about anything to stay relevant at this time, but perhaps the anti-conversion law requires a serious looking into.
