Bangalore Hotel Denies An Interfaith Couple For A Bizarre Reason

India’s blood-soaked communal violence is always an ugly matter. When it takes to the streets crying for a misguided, misinformed justice, people look on in horror but never with much surprise. This is India after all, these things happen right? But when these ideals made themselves felt in the cities, to upper-middles class citizens, suddenly it dawns that the problem is far more insidious than we ever imagined.

For research scholar, Divya DV and her husband Shafeek Subaida Hakkim the issue became all too personal when on Tuesday they were denied entry to a Bengaluru Hotel because of their interfaith marriage. They arrived at the Olive Residency, in Sudhama Nagar intending to stay only a few hours as Divya had an interview to attend at National Law School in the city.

Initially the receptionist refused to believe they were even together, he just could not fathom that a Hindu and a Muslim could possibly be married. When he did eventually concede the obvious he still deemed it too risky a situation “What if they go into the room and hang themselves...Why do we need that trouble” he told The New Minute. He went on to claim that it was the hotel’s policy to deny entry to all inter-religious couples but when asked to produce a copy of the policy he flatly refused.

Though you may argue that this incident is the product of one man’s opinion, he’s just a drop in the ocean of India’s prejudice. Hindu-Muslim relations are tense across the country but the idea that a married couple has to justify the legality of their relationship and still be turned away is incredibly disappointing. We could hope for the triumph of love, or for justice, or just plain common sense but for now most of us are merely hoping for the return of sanity.