Muslim inter-caste marriages hard to materialise
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Mendhar (Poonch), March 10
Those who feel that the inter-caste marriages are hard to materialise amongst Hindus are wrong as here in this border township, the marriages among different castes amongst Muslims too face stiff opposition from society.

Amongst the Hindus, Brahmans cannot marry Rajputs, Shatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras and can tie a knot with the Brahmans only. Similar is the case with other castes.

However, interestingly, the marriages between different castes amongst the Muslims also face hardships in this border township because of rigid caste system. Even the couple that wishes to tie the knot has to feel the heat and most of the times simply give up.

The inter-caste marriages amongst Chauhan, Manhas, and Manyal to Qureshi, Teli and Khokhar Rajputs are not welcome in society here and the couples wishing to enter wedlock face stiff resistance with deep-rooted caste system in society.

“It is not that the caste system is rigid amongst the Hindus, but even in our area, it is deep-rooted amongst us also,” said Tehseen Ahmed, a resident.

“Such marriages, involving boy and girl from different castes, hardly materialise in our society because of social stigma associated with them. There have been cases where the couple has to take extreme steps on not being allowed to marry.”

“Caste polarisation, which I find in Rajouri and Poonch, has rarely been seen elsewhere. Leave aside the inter-caste marriages, there are problems within the sub-castes of a particular caste among the Muslims,” said Zaffar Chowdhary, a resident and a journalist who has worked on the identities of Rajouri and Poonch.