Context: Recently, the Allahabad High Court directed the state government of Uttar Pradesh to investigate the functioning of “fake Arya Samaj societies" allegedly involved in conducting illegal marriages across the state.
Relevance of the Topic:Prelims: Key facts about Arya Samaj Marriages; Special Marriage Act 1954.
What is Arya Samaj?
- The Arya Samaj was formally established as a Hindu revivalist movement by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875.
- It gained prominence in northern India, especially Punjab (including present-day Pakistan), in the late 19th century.
- Arya Samaj made the very first attempts to convert persons from other faiths or ideologies to its version of Vedic, monotheistic Hinduism through a process it called “shuddhi” (purification).
- One of the ways it facilitated this was by having a progressive view of inter-caste and even interfaith marriages.
Arya Marriage Validation Act, 1937
- The Arya Marriage Validation Act was enacted in 1937. This law formally recognised marriages conducted according to Arya Samaj rituals.
- These weddings follow a simplified set of Hindu ceremonies and require only that the couple is of legal age and identifies as Arya Samajis- regardless of caste or prior religious affiliation.
- The Act clearly states that Arya Samaj marriages cannot be considered invalid just because the individuals belong to different castes or were from another religion before the marriage.
The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 which covers not just Hindus but also Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs recognises Arya Samaj marriages. Those belonging to other religions simply need to convert to Hinduism before the wedding.
In effect, till the Special Marriage Act, 1954 came into force, the Arya Samaj provided the only way for a Hindu to marry out of caste or religion and to still retain their caste.
About Special Marriage Act, 1954:
- The Special Marriage Act (SMA) 1954 was enacted to provide a secular legal framework for marriages between individuals belonging to different religions, castes, or communities.
- SMA enables marriage between inter-faith or inter-caste couples, without them giving up their religious identity or resorting to conversion.
- Under the SMA, the couple must provide a 30-day public notice before they marry. This notice is displayed publicly at the Registrar's Office, leaving them vulnerable to harassment from their families or allowing anyone to raise objections to the marriage
Arya Samaj weddings are fast (a couple of hours) with the ease of paperwork and relaxed requirements. This makes Arya Samaj weddings popular among eloping or runaway couples, who often belong to different castes or religions.
Challenges associated with the Arya Samaj Marriage:
- Illegal weddings:
- Concerns over mass-scale solemnisation of marriages by Arya Samaj organisations without verifying marriage eligibility conditions.
- Additionally, a growing number of fake organisations operating under the Arya Samaj name have emerged. These unauthorised groups often conduct marriages without proper checks, forged documents, and in some cases, even solemnise the weddings of underage brides.
- Odds with Anti-conversion law: Various states have passed stringent anti-conversion laws in recent years. Arya Samaj marriages are at odds with the state anti-conversion laws. The shuddhi performed before most interfaith Arya Samaj marriages does not comply with the onerous process for conversion prescribed in the anti-conversion law.
- E.g., In Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021 renders void any marriage that is preceded by an unlawful or procedurally non-compliant religious conversion. The Act requires both a pre-conversion declaration 60 days before marriage and a post-conversion declaration within a specified timeframe to the district magistrate.
The Allahabad HC and Madhya Pradesh HC have ordered police investigations into instances where these organisations allegedly married minors using forged documents, and facilitated conversions without following procedures mandated by the anti-conversion laws of these states.
Also Read: Special Marriage Act 1954: Provisions and Concerns