A considerable controversy also erupted at this time over validity
of Arya Samaj marriages. With low caste converts to Christianity being
reinducted into Hindu ranks after shuddhikaran or purification,
orthodox Hindu society was not prepared to accept these reconverts or
marry with them. With a few deaths of such converts often from very
rich families or landed gentry, property disputes began reaching the
Courts and the existing laws proved inadequate. With neither side
willing to budge, a Marriage Law for Arya Samajis was deferred for
almost 25 years. Luckily a fortituous occurrence took place. Krishna Hutheesing (a sister of Jawaharlal Nehru)
wanted to marry a Prince - a Jain by religion. Such a marriage between
parties of different castes although then allowed in law (by further
amendment in the Brahmo law in 1923) was frowned upon and meant
separation from the family and community. They arranged to be married
under the Adi Brahmo Law of 1872 and gave false declarations (as was
done in B.K.Nehru's case also). When these facts came out, the Adi
Brahmo's fiercely objected to misuse of their Act and began to watch
the banns. In 1938 Jawaharal Nehru's daughter Indira insisted on
getting married to her sweetheart Feroze. Once again being of different
faiths they could not be legally married under any law of the time
except the Adi Dharma Law. The elders (incl. Rabindranath Tagore) of
Brahmo Samaj at Shantiniketan, Delhi and Allahabad were consulted
(incl. by M.K.Gandhi) and who after considerable disagreement advised
instead that the long pending Marriage Validity law for converted low
caste Arya Samajis be enacted, which was speedily done in 1939 by an
obliging Britiush Governemnt, enabling the loving couple to be wed in
early 1942 by secret pre-Vedic Adi Dharm reformed Brahmic rites taught
to Nehru's priest by Adi Dharma elders at Allahabad in the presence of
Brahmos like Sarojini Naidu with the groom wearing a sacred Brahmic thread in secret.
Ever since, these Adi Dharma rites have been used by the Gandhi-Nehru
family for their marriages - such as for Rajiv Gandhi to Sonia Gandhi,
Sanjay Gandhi to Maneka Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi to Robert Vadra etc.
and the Vedic
law of Adi Dharma has never been repealed despite passage of the Hindu
Code in 1955 which repealed all such similar marriage validity laws for
other faiths. |
Adi Dharm timeline >