Elizabeth Hurley breaking Hindu Law?
I found this on a PR-Inside news release
The model-and-actress jetted off to India for a week of traditional Hindu ceremonies, but angry locals insist she has broken the law.
Vishnu Khandewal, from Jodhpur, claims under 295a of the Indian Penal Code - which deals with “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings” – it is against the law to marry in a Hindu ceremony if you are not a Hindu. Khandewal said: “She has hurt the religious sentiments of the community by marrying in Hindu style, which is a criminal offence.” His allegations will reportedly be heard in a Jodhpur court on March 21. Liz’s representatives have not commented on the matter.
Liz – who is currently honeymooning with new husband Arun Nayar in the Maldives – was left red-faced when Indian locals dubbed her the “oldest bride they had ever seen”. Hindu girls usually marry in their late teens or early twenties, almost half the age of 41-year-old Liz.
Hmmm…. the wedding seems to have an unusual share of publicity even for a celebrity wedding. I don’t know the exact word of the law, but if a non-Hindu wants to marry in a traditional Hindu ceremony, to me it seems like a mark of respect for our culture. Why would religious sentiments be hurt by this?
We often see people marrying in different kinds of ceremonies, including people who will have ceremonies according to different religions to show their respect and belief in them. Inter-religious marriages are often done according to both religions and even a third time in court.
I see this as unnecessary and totally uncalled for to comment on someone else’s wedding, particularly when her husband is a Hindu.
Strange how people react to public figures doing anything other than what is “acceptable”
On the other hand, Liz seems to have triggered quite a lot of dislike from locals. I wonder if there is more to this story.
March 15th, 200711:43 am at
a. Even I do not think that it is disrespect if a non-Hindu decides to marry in a Hindu wedding style. It is in fact a gesture of respect towards the Hindu religion as a wedding is probably one of the biggest decisions in a person’s life.
The law I feel is redundant and needs to be changed.
I would actually prefer all religious wedding cermonies to be invalid unless the marriage is also registered legally with a marriage registrar i.e. a court marriage.
This should definitely give women more security and rights as well as then in cases of matrimonial dispute they needn’t run around colleting proofs to show whether they actually married the man or not.
b. From what I heard, she only took 4 pheras so in that case, It wasn’t a hindu wedding at all techically. They had already had another wedding cermony before coming to India and I am assumming that legally the marriage will be registered in the UK.
On the personal comments, most distasteful and more than anything else it reflects the attitude of our society where divorce, second marriages and people marrying late in their lives is considered taboo…
Time we wake up and engage in more social reform
March 15th, 200712:07 pm at
Yeah. Though I don’t know if this is about changing the law, or changing mindsets