Kerala Literature Festival: Love has no religion, caste

KOZHIKODE: "Why does  any religion or  caste overrule love or why do they destroy two souls who decide to lead a life together," asks the Marathi movie 'Sairat'  that challenges the religion and caste system followed in India.  Dubbing artist and activist Bhagya Lakhmi quoted it while speaking on the topic 'Does love have a religion' at the Kerala Literature Festival at Kozhikode beach on Friday. She said, "many religions will tell you (with no rationale behind it) that you must marry within your religion. A practical explanation would probably be: it is difficult to form  a solid foundation by people with conflicting religious views/values."  

The caste and religious conflicts are growing in this era of advancement in all sectors, she opined. B.R.P. Bhaskar, K.P. Ramanunni, Khadeeja Mumtaz and  E.K. Sheeba  talked about the irrelevance of religion in love. Khadeeja Mumtaz said that  even the Supreme Court had expressed concern over the growing intolerance towards inter-caste or inter-religious couples.

"In Kerala there is a strong presence of the minorities compared to other states and hence we cannot blame  any inter- religious marriages,"  said Sheeba." Religion has also been found to affect one's choice of marital partner. Today's  generation  should fight against this barrier and move  forward to a better space," she added.