N. Divya, whose marriage with a Dalit man, I. Ilavarasan, led to caste violence in Tamil Nadu last year, presented herself before the Madras High Court on Thursday after her mother filed a habeas corpus petition. The court allowed her to go with her mother as per her wish. She had removed her thali.
The 21-year-old, a caste Hindu, told The Hindu later in the day that she felt happiness in the presence of her husband and did not face any trouble from her mother-in-law.
Yet it appeared on Thursday that the couple were set to go their separate ways, with the social strain casued by their marriage overwhelming all individual sentiment.
On Tuesday, Mr. Ilavarasan had lodged a missing person complaint with the police in Dharmapuri after Ms. Divya left the couple’s home.
Ms. Divya told The Hindu over the phone after appearing in court: “I faced life with a lot of confidence and believed that I could lead a happy and peaceful life. The caste issue was not at all on my mind [when she fell in love and later decided to marry Mr. Ilavarasan]. But the death of my father and the violent incidents that followed turned my life upside down.”
Ms Divya said while Mr Ilavarasan had been a good husband she could not reciprocate his feelings as she was constantly haunted by the death of her father and the violent incidents that followed. "It is my own making. The thought of suicide also crossed my mind. I don't think I can overcome these feelings and can lead a life with him. "
Ms. Divya was pursuing a nursing course when she fell in love. Her marriage with Mr. Ilavarasan, a native of Natham Colony near Naikkankotai in Dharmapuri district, took place in August 2012. But things changed for the couple after her father Nagarajan committed suicide in the wake of the marriage. This led to attacks on Dalit colonies in the district and to an intense campaign by the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). PMK leader S. Ramadoss accused Dalit youths of luring girls from other communities into short-lived marriages.
