The Dark Side of India - Opposition to Love Marriages due to Varna System (Casteism) at a societal level especially in rural India

       India is considered by many in the world to be a country of many cultures, religions, ethnicities, languages and ways of life and this is true. While many look at this myriad of diversity and point to the same for what it truly is - a blessing, there is a dark side which, in particular, is related to the Varna System associated with Hinduism which even many great Hindu reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy or the great Tamil poet Subrahmani Bharathiar tried to reform but to what extent has the labour of love of these great reformers borne fruit in our modern epoch?. While the older evils of child marriage, Sati, Jawahar, human sacrifices and so on have largely been wiped out in India thanks to the progressive ideals advocated by these great men's reforms ushering in a new age of intellectual and social progress and development in our great country of India, Bharathiar believed that love marriages, in particular, across religious lines is what would quell and ultimately dispel the social backwardness related to the Varna System (casteism) plaguing the thinking of many older generations of people in our country, Bharathiar was right in his forward ideals but sadly the actions of many people within the Hindu society in India, particularly in rural India, shows that older generations of parents have much to learn about where their rights as parents end and where the rights of their children begin - the right to choose a spouse of their pleasing.

      Many such backward-thinking caste-centered parents are forceful in their draconian exertion of unwarranted physical, intellectual and emotional pressure on their children in a bid to curb their marital rights, soap operas in local languages may be ridiculed by many but they are eye-opening indicators of what actually happens in society with some parents who are so appallingly blinded up their narrow-minded, caste-centered thinking that they would even control their daughters or sons by saying that they would commit suicide if their children did not agree to let go of their marital rights and thus many generations of spouses who went on to start their own families have become scape-goats of their parents' wishes by marrying someone other than their love interests. Sometimes, children that went ahead and married their lovers have actually become victims of honour-killings which is by far the worst thing that can happen to the social framework of our land, such parents .
       
      I believe therefore, that it is my duty as an Indian citizen who is concerned about the social welfare of my country to draw your attention to something that has ailed and plagued our beloved country far too long, something that extends to the present and has marred the lives of far too many people, old and young alike- casteism and caste-based opposition to love marriages across castes (intercaste marriages). Sadly, it has also had its share of victims across the country and castes of people, not just within Hinduism but also outside it for lame reasons like the bride and groom not belonging to the same caste. Proponents of the caste-centered mindset would allude to the inability of members of the same caste, usually distant relatives and family members to accept such marriages for fear of being ostracised by them or the community at large to which they belong. For families, this involves not being invited to family functions among other issues but the question that such people who fear this treatment need to ask themselves is whether it is truly worth it to ruin their children's lives by forcing them to marry someone other than the one they love, usually shown to them by their parents simply because the said bride/groom chosen by such parents are from the same caste as their son/daughter. 

   Beyond Hinduism, this backward, woeful, caste-centered mindset has gone on even to pervade the minds of many Christians across denominational lines and this is where it worsens because if caste-centered mindset is worse enough as it is in Hinduism where it has made many physical and emotional victims across caste lines. A visit to many churches, Catholic and Protestant-alike and a peek into their marriage registers is enough to knock any sensible Christian over in utter disbelief as if they were struck by a bolt out of the blue. Parents of brides and grooms in marriage registers in Christian churches also mention, among other expectations, caste-related expectations for their daughters and sons, for instance, a converted Brahmin family would seek a similar converted Brahmin wife for their Brahmin son - something which Jesus Christ would never support, let alone approve of but despite many ministers of the Gospel pointing out the obvious - that God is not a respecter of persons and that for God, there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile in Christ, ostensibly implying that casteism is to be thoroughly eschewed among Christians because of its partial treatment of all men and women made in God's own image, hence bearing equal value in the eyes of the Creator which is how Christians are to regard fellow believers and other human beings. It is woefully damning of such parents to persist in their misguided way in seeking a bride/groom from the same caste for their son/daughter. It is time that the woe of Casteism and the Varna System is relegated to the garbage dump of religious history and culture where its cousins of Sati, child marriage, caste-based professions, Jawahar or human sacrifices have been rotting away into oblivion paving the way for a new era of enlightenment for all in our county across castes and religions, one where parents no longer are an obstacle to the marital dreams and wishes of their children where humans are respected for who they are and by areas of merit such as good virtues, educational dreams and equal opportunities for all beyond any man-made divisions originating from the stone age leading to more hapless physical and emotional victims. Enough is enough with casteism, let parents be enlightened and children dream of marrying whomsoever they please beyond caste and religious lines and let our country India thrive and flourish without the scourge of casteism pulling it back to the dark ages!, Jai Hind!