Published Feb 14, 2026 | 4:46 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 14, 2026 | 4:46 PM
The CPI(M) said over 100 self-respect weddings were conducted at its offices across TN in the past 5 months. (Supplied)
Synopsis: Love is blind to caste and status. When young couples wishing to get married encounter opposition from their family or community, they can seek protection at any CPI(M) office in Tamil Nadu, where they can marry under safe conditions.
Marrying outside the caste is often considered taboo in Tamil Nadu despite the State promoting inter-caste unions. Couples daring to follow their hearts are considered outcasts, people who have dishonoured the community they belong to.
Such marriages grabbed headlines when community members — mostly the family of one of the couples — took matters into their hands in the name of what they consider ‘honour’, and shed blood.
Rahul, a diploma holder from the Tiruvayur district, was 24 when he met engineering graduate Prema, 21, of Karaikudi, while working in Coimbatore. The youngsters got to know each other well and decided to embark upon their life journey together.
The Bard’s saying, “The course of true love never did run smooth,” became a stark reality in their life. Prema’s family opposed her decision to marry outside the caste.
Yet, they decided to stick to their decision and headed to Rahul’s hometown.
“My family disapproved of my love, citing caste as the reason. So I came to Rahul’s hometown,” Prema said.
The young woman was then undergoing a mix of emotions, happiness, fear, worry, and expectations.
“That’s when the Communist Party leaders at Tiruvayur gave us courage, and arranged our wedding in their party office in 2025,” Prema said with a smile.
Rahul, on the other hand, was confident — a courage that arose from the realisation that he was not alone.
“They (the party leaders) told us, ‘as long as you stand firm, we will be with you. You don’t have to worry about anything. If any problem arises, we will take care of it,” he said about how the CPI(M) instilled courage in him.
“They even gave us their phone numbers. That’s why I don’t feel scared at all,” the man said.
India, year after year, witnesses contrasting images on Valentine’s Day.
On one side are business posters designed to attract couples; on the other are propaganda campaigns by right-wing extremist groups that ridicule lovers with posters mocking relationships and marriages.
Even as anti-love sentiments are increasingly being sown across the country, the Tamil Nadu state committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has been conducting caste- and religion-free self-respect marriages for couples in love at its party offices across the State.
In August 2025, CPI(M) state secretary P Shanmugam announced that couples wishing for caste-free marriages could approach party offices, which would always remain open to them.
Since that announcement, CPI(M) has facilitated hundreds of such marriages at its offices.
Shanmugam told South First that at least one such marriage has been taking place daily at one party office or another across the State.
The CPI(M), which has long been involved in movements against caste oppression in Tamil Nadu, has for years actively encouraged caste- and religion-free marriages.
In August 2025, CPI(M) state secretary P Shanmugam announced that couples wishing for caste-free marriages could approach party offices. (Supplied)
“Self-respect marriage is nothing new for the Communist Party. From comrade P Ramamurthi to Sankaraya and down to me, most leaders in our party have entered into self-respect marriages,” Shanmugham said.
“It is natural to our lives. But because society does not treat it as normal, youngsters are forced to live in fear and face multiple problems. That is why we asked them to come to our offices, to instil confidence and give them hope,” he added.
IV Nagarajan, a CPI(M) State Committee member from Tiruvarur, who has personally overseen many such weddings, believes in uniting love-laden hearts.
“We are all human beings. If two people love each other, why separate them? We try to help them in every possible way, bring them together, and speak to their parents to resolve issues. Once they have chosen each other, how can they be separated?” he asked.
Similarly, a CPI(M) member and advocate from Tirunelveli, shed more insights.
“Caste-based mindset sees women as the property of a caste. That is why dominant castes see it as an insult when a woman chooses and marries someone of her choice,” the advocate, who preferred to be identified only as Palani, said.
“Choosing a life partner is a woman’s fundamental right. These self-respect marriages are a crucial centre for eradicating caste, which is why we support them,” she stated.
In Tamil Nadu, self-respect marriages are widely believed to have their roots in the Self-Respect Movement started by Periyar EV Ramasamy.
At the same time, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) played a significant role in encouraging such marriages and granting them legal recognition.
The DMK government, led by CN Annadurai, formed in 1967, was the first to provide legal sanction to self-respect marriages.
However, questions are now being raised about whether Dravidian parties are actively encouraging self-respecting marriages on the ground today.
“A self-respecting marriage is one in which a man and a woman willingly accept each other as life partners without any rituals. Such marriages are registered under the Special Marriage Act,” Palani explained.
The Special Marriage Act, 1954, provides for secular civil marriage for people of India and all Indian nationals in foreign countries, irrelevant of the religion or faith followed by either party.
Nagarajan, however, alleged that even ruling party functionaries sometimes opposed such marriages when CPI(M) facilitated them.
“Despite calling itself a social justice government, at times, certain leaders, government officials, and even police personnel with dominant-caste mindsets turn hostile when we conduct these marriages. Many times, we resolve matters through dialogue; sometimes it escalates into confrontation. Even then, we stand firmly by the couple,” he said.
Shanmugam noted that while the Dravidian movement dismantled the notion that only ritual-heavy Brahmin-led Hindu marriages are valid and legally recognised self-respect marriages, it would be wrong to say that self-respect marriages began only with the movement. He said teh communist party has always encouraged such marriages.
“When our leader P Ramamurthi, was the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, he got married in a self-respect ceremony with just two witnesses. He later announced it in the Assembly, and Periyar himself welcomed it. That is how naturally Communists have embraced self-respecting marriages,” Shanmugam said.
He added that many from other ideological streams still held ritual-heavy weddings in the morning and then stage a symbolic self-respect marriage in the evening.
“This is the reality,” he remarked.
In June 2024, the CPI(M) office in Tirunelveli district was attacked and vandalised for helping a couple in love. Advocate Palani was among those assaulted in the incident.
“Caste leaders and hired goons entered the office along with the woman’s family. This happened despite police presence. They began smashing glass doors while searching for the woman and assaulted us. Even then, the very next day, our leaders announced that our doors would always remain open for caste-free marriages. That is the level of our commitment,” she said.
Nagarajan recalled that parents sometimes resort to emotional threats.
“They come carrying poison and try to emotionally blackmail us, attempting to take their children back. We have to talk to them, pacify them, and arrange the marriage,” he said.
He also pointed out that, at times, police officers themselves, acting with dominant-caste bias, persuade couples who approach police stations to return to their parents. “That is how it often works,” he said.
It is in this context, Shanmugam said, that CPI(M) cadres across the State work to ensure protection, legal registration of marriages, and all necessary assistance for couples who come seeking help.
Both the State and Union governments offer incentives for caste-free marriages.
In Tamil Nadu, under the Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy Memorial Inter-Caste Marriage Assistance Scheme, brides who have passed Class 10 are eligible for a financial assistance of ₹25,000 along with eight grams of gold, while graduates are eligible for ₹50,000 and eight grams of gold.
Similarly, the Union government runs multiple schemes to support inter-caste married couples.
“Many couples are either unaware of these schemes or do not know how to apply for them,” Palani said.
“The procedure itself is complicated. When couples apply through the Village Administrative Officer for registration, enquiries are made with their families before certificates are issued. But these couples have already left home and married precisely because their families did not consent. How are they supposed to obtain certificates or appear for such enquiries?” she asked.
She added that couples face multiple hurdles — from marriage registration to finding space in protection homes and dealing with inadequate incentive amounts.
The CPI(M) has long been demanding a separate law to address caste-based honour killings in Tamil Nadu.
Last August, leaders, including VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan, CPI(M) state secretary Shanmugam, and former CPI state secretary Mutharasan met Chief Minister MK Stalin and submitted a memorandum highlighting the need for such legislation.
Subsequently, during the October 2025 Assembly session, Stalin announced the formation of a committee headed by retired High Court judge KN Basha to recommend measures to tackle caste-based honour crimes.
“The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act already exists, but it applies only when both individuals belong to those communities. In inter-caster marriages where one person is from an SC community and the other from a BC community, this law cannot be effectively invoked,” Shanmugam explained.
“In such cases, the killing is treated as an ordinary murder, leaving the couple or their families without adequate protection,” he stated.
He argued that a separate law would ensure compensation, job priority, government protection of homes, and accountability not only for those who commit the murder but also for those who instigate or facilitate it.
“No matter how many couples come, the doors of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) will always remain open for them,” Shanmugam said.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
