KOCHI: High literacy rate might not be an accurate gauge of one’s social and moral ideologies. The alleged honour killing of 27-year-old Aneesh, a Palakkad - native who had married Haritha, an upper - caste girl, or the 2018 infamous murder of Kevin P Joseph, a Dalit Christian from Kottayam, by his girlfriend Neenu Chacko’s relatives are testimonies to this.
Caste and religion are age-old issues, when it comes to marriage. An unflinching believer of the principal ‘all humans are equal’, 31-year-old Thrissur native Manu Manushyajaathi (humankind), — devoid of any trace of caste, religion and patriarchal norms — set up a community service.
The mathematics teacher, driven by logic and rationality, created a Facebook page ‘Secular Marriage Matrimony’, wherein he facilitates a platform for people who wish to marry outside barriers of caste and religion, under The Special Marriage Act. “I started a Facebook page in May 2014 titled ‘Mathamillatha Jeevithangal’ (Lives without religion). There, I shared stories of inter-caste, inter-religious and trans couples who fought against all odds to live together.
Soon, I began receiving requests from people who didn’t want to be shackled by religion and wanted a platform to find secular partners. By October 2014, I started ‘Secular Marriage Matrimony’ for the same. However, I was held back by my studies and other personal engagements, and couldn’t handle the page efficiently. I decided to be more active during the lockdown and the number of followers increased to nearly 26,000, with several people sharing their profiles via SMS and WhatsApp,” says Manu.
Careful process
Individual profiles are shared in the Facebook page and WhatsApp groups formed for the same, after careful vetting. “After several rounds of conversations with people, I have come to realise that many aren’t as secular as they think. Some have accidentally blurted out their horoscope and star signs when they were asked to talk about their background. Among the descriptions I receive, women are more secular than men. Among them, several might just be looking for any alliance, some are divorced.
They would have been married in a religious and ritualistic manner initially, but now are on the lookout for secular partners. Individual profiles with their contact details are shared publicly only after I’m thoroughly convinced of their true intentions,” explains Manu. Unlike matrimony websites that rake in millions, Manu receives no monetary benefit.
“The happiness I receive when people are willing to keep such societal differences aside and marry is unexplainable. As a former Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad member, I would take classes on science and reasoning as against illogical obsession with horoscopes. Also, since I receive no funding, once profiles are shared online, interested persons take the matter forward. I’m not involved unless the matter escalates to a different level. I have received threats earlier for promoting such a page but I pay no heed to the same” he adds.
Manu hopes to create a website wherein people will be more comfortable to share their profiles with a moderate fee of Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. Currently, he handles the page with Shubha, a Kannur - native who found her partner via the page.
AGAINST ODDS
I started a Facebook page in May 2014 titled ‘Mathamillatha Jeevithangal’ (Lives without religion). There, I shared stories of inter-caste, inter-religious and trans couples who fought against all odds to live together. Soon, I started to get many requests.