Interfaith Marriages in Modern India: Obstacles Remain.

• Author: Kaul, Ajay
• Position: RELIGION

I FIRST MET THEM at the British Council Library. It was the summer of 1994, and I was interested in the MBA program at the London School of Economics. I needed information about the application process. They were sitting next to me, inquiring about just any graduate program in London that was affordable.

My curiosity pulled my focus toward them, away from my counselor. Their counselor appeared curious, too.

"It seems like you are just looking for an avenue to get to London."

The girl seemed embarrassed. She set eyes on her guy and responded to the counselor. "We want to get as far away from our parents as possible. We hope that way, they will begin to miss us."

Three of us--the two counselors and I--exchanged a glance and looked back at the girl. We needed clarification. A splash of blush swept across the girl's face. Her eyes, laden with black eyeliner, shrunk into a shy acknowledgment. "Our parents have disowned us since we got married."

Did they belong to different castes? I hoped that was not the reason. The guy noticed a whole bunch of eager eyes around him and clarified. "I am Hindu, and she is Muslim. That's why our families disowned us." The room went into pin-drop silence. All five of us exchanged glances. It was like we were admiring and concerned at the same time. I was all admiration, so I reached out to them.

What struck me right away was their lively demeanor. They were young--close to my age--and I only could imagine what they might have gone through to get married. I was curious, but did not want to make that too obvious. So, I stuck to the topic of interest to both of us.

"I am also exploring a few U.S. universities. Have you looked at any? The chance of getting a scholarship is higher there."

"Oh, that would be too far off. We want to go far enough so when our parents miss us, they come over to visit us. If we end up in the U.S., they will probably forget us altogether," Roohi explained and looked at me for an acknowledgment of her strategic thinking.

"She is more hopeful. I think it will be a long, long time before our parents reconcile to our marriage." Rajat was more practical, but he received a jab in the ribs for being pessimistic.

Despite the love they exuded, I could tell they feared losing each other. "We have started applying like crazy, and just so you know, you have competition. Rajat is planning on applying to LBS."

"I don't think so. I am shifting focus to the U.S. universities. I am thinking of writing the...