India 360: Hindu-Muslim love story

MARITAL UPROAR: The couple has not broken the law but the saffron outfits have, say panelists.

          

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For Umar and Priyanka, a couple from Bhopal who wanted to get married despite being from different religions, the journey towards nuptial turned out to be a topsy-turvy ride.

With Hindu groups like RSS and the Bajrang Dal staunchly opposed to the idea of the couple getting married and threatening them with dire consequences, Umar and Priyanka had to flee to Mumbai to register a court marriage.

Their bravado led to Umar's brother Shakeel being picked up by the Bhopal police and kept in custody for five days. The couple finally moved the Bombay High court that upheld their marriage.

But the trauma is not yet over. The Madhya Pradesh units of RSS and Bajrang Dal are now threatening a Bhopal bandh if the couple isn't arrested.

The saga came to light when a CNN-IBN citizen journalist sent pictures of Shakeel in police custody, nailing the police version. The court has now asked the Bhopal SP for an explanation.

So is India still intolerant to the idea of inter-religion marriages? On CNN-IBN show India 360, Bhupendra Chaubey discussed this issue with a panel comprising co-editor of Communalism Combat, Javed Anand; sociologist Dipankar Gupta and former BJP MP Prafull Goradia.

Why this intolerance?

Why is there so much of opposition for inter-religious marriages?

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