In Andhra Pradesh, a Hindu woman and her toddler were chased from the house by her Christian husband and in-laws after she refused to follow Christianity. Earlier they had agreed to the condition that she could follow her religion after marriage. But she was forced to abandon Hindu traditions, and not allowed to talk to her parents. She staged a protest in front of their house following which her husband was detained.
Pallavi of Visakhapatnam married Varaprasad after both fell in love in 2011. She is a B.Tech graduate and both were working in Bengaluru. When Pallavi’s parents came to know about the relationship they didn’t approve and they brought her home from Bengaluru in 2017. Varaprasad filed a police complaint alleging that she was kept under house arrest. After the police intervened she was given the freedom to go with whoever she wanted and she went with Varaprasad.
Varaprasad’s family promised Pallavi’s parents that they would look after their daughter well and that she can follow her own religion. The couple were married on June 5, 2018, as per Hindu customs at the Annavaram Satyanarayana temple in the presence of friends and family. Later Pallavi was forced by her mother-in-law to take Baptism saying that a Christian marriage was not possible without undertaking it. Pallavi underwent baptism and the Christian marriage was held on June 28.
From then she was told that she cannot wear bindi, lipstick, jeans, or nightdress as she was a Christian. Her mother-in-law reportedly told her that “if you wear lipstick men will think ‘differently’” and restricted her from going to work as well. She was also not allowed to talk to her parents even on the phone. Pallavi gave birth to a baby girl but her parents were not allowed to see the newborn.
Her husband and father-in-law threatened her saying that they own lorries and can get her crushed under one. The in-laws have said that even if she dies they will find another girl for their son. Pallavi staged a protest at their house seeking action against her husband and in-laws. As per Telugu media reports police have taken Varaprasad into custody.
Pallavi was wrong in believing that her Christian in-laws would allow her to remain Hindu even after baptism, but this kind of ignorance is universal among Hindu girls. They lack awareness of the significance behind undergoing baptism or reciting the Kalima, mistakenly perceiving them as mere processes which do not hold legal binding or could be altered later. Educating Hindu girls about what converting to abrahamic religions entails is as essential as bringing such cases to light.
