The magic of love knows no bounds
I was familiar with the look of defiance and determination on the face of the 20-something frail girl standing in front of my desk. In my long years as a police officer, I had seen dozens of girls who, as if driven by some invisible force, cross the barriers of caste, class, region or religion for the love of their lives.
She was a Hindu, and the not-so-confident youth standing by her side, a Muslim. Both were from middle-class families. Her family had complained that the youth had abducted her and forcibly married her after converting her to Islam.
The police had no authority to interfere in their affair because both were adults. But the matter had the potential to snowball into a communal flare-up. Also, a state law prohibited conversion without the permission of the District Magistrate and no such nod had been sought or given in this case.
I was serving as the Commissioner of Police, Surat, when the incident was reported. Considering the sensitivity of the matter, we traced the couple and arranged a meeting of the girl with her parents. But she had insisted that she would meet them only in my office, for she feared that they or other relatives might abduct her or harm her partner; and she did not trust lower-rung cops. So, I called both sides to my office.
On seeing the girl, her mother broke down and hugged her tightly. The daughter, however, remained stiff. The parents then turned to the youth and started accusing him. But before we could intervene, the girl said in a raised voice, “Stop it! He’s innocent! I had gone with him willingly.”
“He has forcibly converted my daughter! This marriage is illegal”, her father said. She replied, “Who said I have converted? I have not. And we are not married as yet.”
“Thank God you are safe. Come dear, let’s go home”, the mother said, pulling the girl by her arm. The latter, however, did not budge. On getting a signal from me, the inspector, who had brought the couple, stepped in and said, “Okay, okay, you have met her. Now it’s up to her to come with you or not.”
“But she is not married yet. Allow us to take her with us,” the mother protested. But the girl replied in a firm and clear voice: “Yes, we are not married and I have not converted. We are in a live-in relationship and I want to stay with him.”
The parents were speechless for a while. Then, the girl’s mother started wailing, “Oh my God! This boy has done black magic on my daughter. She has never talked to us like this before!” And she started cursing the youth.
At this, the girl said, “Yes, it’s magic! But it is not what you think.” And then she asked me if they could leave.
“Yes, of course!” I said. I sent the parents away and told the young lovers to be careful and call the police immediately if they faced any threat. Then, wishing them well, I sent them off.
Musings