New Delhi: A family function in Nashik to celebrate the wedding of a Hindu woman and a Muslim man had to be cancelled after their wedding card was leaked and shared on public WhatsApp groups, prompting protests by some individuals who described it as a case of “love jihad”, the Indian Express has reported.Love jihad is a bogey used by right-wing Hindu groups who claim Muslim men and luring Hindu women to convert and get married. No evidence has been found for such a conspiracy, but that hasn’t stopped vigilantes from harassing interfaith couples.Although the ceremony scheduled for July 18 now stands cancelled, the couple had already registered their marriage at a Nashik court in the presence of both the families in May. The upcoming family function on July 18 was only to perform some Hindu rituals before the bride left for her in-laws’ house.The bride’s father is a well-known jeweller locally and his family had struggled to find a suitable match for his daughter, who has physical disabilities. But when his daughter and her former classmate expressed willingness to get married, both families agreed to their union. The families knew each other for the past few years.After their marriage was registered at a local court, both sides agreed for a ceremony to be performed on July 18 with close relatives as invitees at a Nashik hotel. An invitation card printed for this purpose had somehow been leaked onto public WhatsApp groups, with bride’s father receiving messages, calls, including from even “strangers”, who demanded that the function be cancelled.The bride’s father said he was asked by his community members to meet them on July 9 and was “advised” not to hold the function. “A lot of pressure started coming from people of the community and others, and so it was decided to cancel the marriage function,” a family member on the bride’s side was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.Following this, the bride’s father and her family members had sent a letter to their local community organisation that the ceremony had been called off.“We have received a letter from the family and they have informed us that the marriage has been cancelled,” said Sunil Mahalkar, president of Lad Suvarnakar Sanstha, Nashik, to whom the letter was addressed.Although the families do not prefer to approach the police, they have asserted that whatever happens, the young couple will not be forced to separate.
