August 10, 2026

It Is Wrong To Form A Panel To Keep Tabs On Inter-Faith Marriages

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-12-15 06:42:27

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

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Shraddha Walkar was allegedly brutally murdered and her body chopped into pieces by her live-in partner. It was the result of a relationship gone sour. But it so happened that her live-in partner was Muslim. So now, the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra has taken a decision to form a panel that will keep tabs on all inter-faith and inter-caste marriages involving state residents. The points of reference of the panel are designed in such a manner that it will go against a woman's right to marry as per her choice and might result in a witch-hunt.  

The move has immediately drawn flak from women's groups who say it will be a form of surveillance and an intrusion on privacy. They say that the government has no business to interfere in the lives of private adult citizens. The irony is that Shraddha was not even married to Aaftab Poonawala, the partner who allegedly murdered her. So despite forming the panel, how will the government keep tabs on such relationships where couples do not marry but have a long-term live-in relationship?

Also, the decision to form the panel in the wake of the Walkar incident shows that the government thinks such incidents take place only in inter-faith or inter-caste marriage which is a dangerous and myopic view. A violent, even murderous, spouse can be from any faith and it is just a coincidence that Poonawala was Muslim. This fact is proved by incidents of serious domestic violence and murders in same-faith marriages.

The only good thing in the resolution to form the panel is the proposal to set up a platform to allow women in such marriages and their maternal families to access counselling, communicate and resolve disputes. The government should act on this angle only and junk the other things in the proposal. This platform should be open for all (and not just for inter-faith or inter-caste marriages) and NGOs and other government bodies working to help victims of domestic violence must also be involved. The government has no right to keep tabs - instead it must do all that is possible to create awareness and help women who are in such toxic and violent relationships.