#ShraddhaWalkar: Panel To Track Inter-caste Weddings

The brutal murder of Shraddha Walkar invited debates on ‘Love – Jihad’ and also on inter-faith and inter-caste relationships/marriages. Since Shraddha hails from Maharashtra, the state government has initiated first of its kind to track the inter-faith and inter-caste marriages.

The Maharashtra government moved a resolution to set up a panel that would be headed by the state’s Women and Child Development Ministry. This committee will essentially be a platform for the women who are estranged and they can get access to counseling and resolve the family disputes.

Besides this the panel will monitor district level initiatives for women involved in inter-faith or inter-caste marriages. For women who get separated, assistance will be provided but it is unclear whether it will be legally or financially. There will be regular review of marriages in this category at district level and will be measured on seven parameters. Information of inter-faith and inter-caste will be gathered from stamp duty and Registration Offices.

This committee will be a 13 membered one and will be led by the minister. Currently BJP leader Mangal Prabhat Lodha is heading Women and Child Development ministry. The committee will study policies at the Central and state levels, welfare schemes and laws.

This is a welcome move by the Maharashtra government but given the complexity of inter-faith and inter-caste marriages, the committee needs to deal with such matters very sensitively as there are high chances disturbing the normalcy and can lead to religious conflicts.