Amid tensions with India, Pakistani couples travel to Gujarat to get married

Amid tensions between India and Pakistan following the abrogation of Article 370, two Hindu couples from Karachi traveled to Gujarat earlier this week and tied the knot on Saturday. The marriages which took place at Rajkot were organised by the Rajkot Maheshwari Samaj. Both the couples belonged to the Maheshwari community.

Youth president of Rajkot Maheshwari Samaj, Bhavesh Maheshwari, said the organisation has helped more than 90 couples from Pakistan, mostly from Karachi, to tie the knot and settle down in India. The couples who got married on Saturday too plan to stay on in India, he said.

“Last year we organised marriages of 15 couples from Pakistan, this year two couples came. In most cases both the groom and the bride come from Pakistan,” he said.

“People from our community are a harassed lot in that country. Hindus find it hard to live in Pakistan. They earn money but their life is always at risk. In Pakistan, their marriages happen to be low-key. Here we arrange marriages with great pomp and show, like marriages should be,” he added.

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Around 3,000 Maheshwari families live in Karachi, he said. "Most of them obtain a long term visa for India and keep renewing it (after arrival in India) in order to live here," he said.

Anil Maheshwari, a bridegroom who came from Karachi, said a lot of people from the community who were left behind in Pakistan during Partition want to settle down in India.

Asked about the withdrawal of special status of Jammu and Kashmir which has strained the diplomatic ties between the two countries, he said he supported the Indian government’s decision.