Chandigarh: Social constructs have always been the classic antagonist in most of the celebrated love stories in history. With things like religion, caste, and geographical boundaries forming the base of the society we live in, love, in its truest form, often finds itself gasping for air. One such unfortunate but resilient story of love from Chandigarh is perhaps similar to many others who live in the same ordeals of love.
Neeraj Malik from Chandigarh and his Afghanistani wife Malala shared their inter-boundary love story full of hardships with ETV Bharat this week, celebrated as the week of love worldwide.
Neeraj and Malala's love story started with a random meeting in a small restaurant in Sector 22 of Chandigarh about two years ago when Malala was in India pursuing her education. Both of them soon found a strong connection flourishing between them, and consequently falling in love with each other. The connection grew stronger with time, leading them into tying the conjugal knot with each other in a matter of just a few months. But what goes without saying are the difficulties they faced before and are still facing after getting married, consequent of their different nationalities.
As Malala narrates in her story, her parents were not convinced of their marriage not just because of their varying nationalities, but also because of a promise her father had made to her uncle. Malala was promised as a wife to one of her cousins before she was even born. But as she grew up and got a sense of the world, Malala refused to abide by her father's promise. Her love for Neeraj was all the more reason for her to refuse the forced marriage. When her parents were not convinced despite her continuous efforts, Malala decided to get married to Neeraj against their wishes.
But ever since the couple got married, they are being continuously threatened by Malala's mother, brother, and uncle. Although the couple lives in India, both of them have been continuously receiving death threats not just from Afghanistan, but also from other countries like Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and some Arab countries. "The callers just tell me the same thing - that it is a crime for a Muslim woman to get married to a non-Muslim man. And the only punishment for this crime is death. One of the callers even said that he is calling from the Taliban and he will soon kill me and my husband. They crossed the limits when a man from my country literally reached our house searching for us," tells Malala. The person reportedly searched for Malala and Neeraj in Delhi for a month but soon reached Chandigarh after getting some clues from there.
Malala's husband Neeraj has also been worried about the mental and financial damage these perpetual threats have been causing to both of them and their family. "Malala has been scared of even getting out of the house because of these threats. She left her job and my business has also hit the rock bottom because of all of this. My widowed mother stays alone in the house, so it's a risk to leave her alone and go out," said Neeraj. Although the couple has lodged a complaint in the matter and is also being provided police security, the clouds of threat never stop hovering above them.
"Our lives are difficult at this point. The area we live in also has a lot of Afghanis, adding even more to our fears. I have even written a letter to the Central Government for the security to be adequately arranged. Although we have very feeble hopes at this point, we wish this matter comes to an end as soon as possible," says Neeraj.
