While cities like Paris and Agra are being flocked to for their romantic appeal as the ‘City of Love’, a small town in Rajasthan, Churu, is fast becoming famous for a different reason: the increasing number of couples applying for police protection because of love marriages.
In Churu, love has been able to cut across the societal barriers of caste, religion, and economic status, and even though the town is more traditional, it has become a focus for couples defying societal norms. According to local reports, many couples visit the district’s Superintendent of Police (SP) office daily to seek assistance.
Interestingly, love flourishes in Churu but marriages are made elsewhere, be it Arya Samaj temples in Ghaziabad or courts in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Bikaner. All these couples often face pressure in the name of caste, religion, wealth, or age differences forcing them to get married outside home. Even after marriage, the challenges do not end. Couples return to their families, which is followed by resistance sometimes through threats of violence or honor-based harm.
Many couples run to the Churu SP office seeking police protection. In that sense, Churu has become the city of love challenging ages-old values, thus becoming known as Rajasthan’s ‘City of Love’.