The Maharashtra government has set up a committee to track inter-faith marriages with vague assertions, yaniki, barely masked prejudice that these frequently involve fraud. Women, whatever their ideology, must oppose this kind of surveillance of private life by governments. Historically, such interference is never about the freedom and well-being of women, but rather about assuaging masculine anxiety and bolstering masculine authority.

Conservative masculinity is partly tied to the idea of men controlling “their” women. That is why there is such an obsession with women choosing “other” men. So much so, that there is a systemic denial of this capacity of choice. Every such choice is recast as a woman being led astray, or frauded and brainwashed (as if patriarchy is not busy brainwashing all of us 24/7) by ‘paraye mard’. Including the women’s family in this latest tracking plan underscores the belief that family claims on women, supersede women’s own autonomy and choices.