Intercaste couple Mayuri Patel and Vishwas Satwara are the victims of a social boycott.
Pud village of the Mehsana district in North Gujarat omits Mayuri, Vishwas and their families. They face this bigotry for their courage to marry irrespective of their caste.
We cannot buy vegetables, milk or ghee from the village dairy, so we go to Mehsana city to buy them, dolefully says them.
The Pud villagers decided not to exclude them. Vishwas and his family cant offer prayers in the village temple. There is also a ban on providing water to the family for farming. Anyone who goes against this decision has to pay a fine of Rs.25000.
I was studying in the science stream. The villagers respected us a lot for my education. Also, the village parcels showed a willingness to bear all the expenses to make me a scientist. But our affair everything changed, says Vishwas.
Mehsana Collector Udit Agarwal says that they have the right to marry, as they are adults. I have promised to protect them.
The Collector has dispatched a team consisting of a social justice officer to mediate between the communities to maintain law and order by stopping the ostracization the couples face.
