Page No. Content

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

ENDEAVORS 4

4 A. Counselling and Case Work 5 B. Marriage Solemnisation 8 C. Solidarity Meets 8 D. Protection for Couples 10 E. Safe Home for Couples 11 F. Meetings, Seminars & Event 14 G. SAHAS 2018 15 ADVOCACY & AWARENESS

15 A. Memorandum to Chief Minister of

15 B. Meeting with Delhi Commission for Women 16 C. Meeting for Potential Petition in Supreme Court 17 SOLIDARITY WITH VICTIM OF HONOUR CRIME

18 STUDY & RESEARCH

19 PUBLICATION & AWARENESS

20 DHANAK IN NEWS

21 DHANAK TEAM

22 RESOURCE MOBILISATION AND FINANCES

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EXCUTIVE SUMMARY

The year witnessed positive progression in terms of reaching out to the couples in need. We have seen a drastic increase in the couples and individuals who approached Dhanak for potential help and support. The number of cases increased 4.5 times in comparison to last year. The main reason for such a drastic increase was Dhanak’s visibility due to wide coverage by the leading electronic media. It has also resulted in a remarkable increase in the number of cases related to inter-caste alliances. Total cases related to inter-faith alliance were 123 whereas, there were 161 cases related to inter-caste alliance.

A safe home for couples -in -need was opened to extend all the required support and protection needed by the couple at the time of their marriage and also during initial one month of marriage. The Safe Home was closed down for a few months after an unfortunate incident, however it’s services were resumed after strengthening safety measures and documentation processes.

Two meetings on the issue of Right to Choice were held in Pune and Lucknow with the help of Muslim Satya Shodhak Samaj and Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiative (AALI). Both the social organisations are member of Chayan.

Dhanak’s member couples hosted five Solidarity Meets in their respected houses in Delhi and NCR. An in house perspective building meet was organised with participation of member couples of Dhanak in Delhi.

Representations to the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and the Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women were given for essential changes in the Act and Rules related to marriage were given.

Samvaad, a booklet was published with SAHAS magazine and was released on 14th Feb 2018. Publication of SAHAS is an annual feature but, Samvaad is a handbook for frequently asked questions (FAQs) for couples seeking help and advice. The FAQs are based on personal experiences of couples in mixed marriage.

Besides regular individual donation from Dhanak member couples for Dhanak Corpus fund, a donation of Rs.10 lakhs was received from Mrs. Gayatri Saberwal and her family. Rs.7 lakhs from the received donation is year marked for Dhanak’s corpus fund. The present corpus fund of Dhanak is Rs.8.7 lakhs.

Dhanak managed to draw media attention due to its nature of work and help of its Executive Board. Dhanak was covered by NDTV in its Prime Time and 92.7 FM radio. SAHAS 2018 was covered by media like The Wire, The Quint, BBC and The Times of .

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ENDEVOURS

A. Counselling & Case work

A total of 295 couples/individuals contacted Dhanak for seeking help and guidance in their case during the year. The strength of couples seeking help has increased drastically during the years after Dhanak’s coverage in NDTV Prime Time program of 14th Feb 2017.

Background of the Cases Seeking

Dhanak's help in 2017-18 4%

42% Inter-Religious 54% Inter-caste Same/ Intra-faith/caste

In the total cases that contacted Dhanak; 73 were Hindu, 33 Muslim, 11 Christian, 6 Sikh, 11 intra-faith and 161 females into inter caste alliance.

Religious background of the girls in

the inter religious cases 2017-18 Hindu Muslim Christian Sikh

9% 5%

27% 59%

Couples/individuals based in Delhi/NCR were met in person, in most of the cases, more than once and others based outside NCR were counselled over phone. In a few very cases, couples from outside NCR also chose to personally come and meet us.

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Case Study – In Support for the Cause

Dhanak received initial phone calls from Zohaib to explore the possibilities of his marriage with Nayanee. He wanted to know about the possible help from Dhanak if he comes to Delhi with his friend? Therefore, he was being advised accordingly over the

phone. Later, after gauging the authenticity of Dhanak after 2-3 calls, Zohaib informed that he and Nayanee have already left their houses and they have no other place to go. Dhanak advised them to come to Delhi, immediately.

They were put in touch with the advocate in Delhi after solemnising their marriage as per Arya Samaj rituals. The couple received protection from Delhi High Court and they were provided place to stay by Dhanak members. After a week the couple moved to house of a Friend of Dhanak (FoD). They were provided shelter for 10 days by the

FoD and a rented accommodation was also found for the couple.

The couple appeared in an interview on NDTV and that helped them to find jobs as one of the viewers of the program. The couple was offered job in his office. Another viewer helped them financially and in enrolment of Nayanee in NIOS for her education. The couple is staying and working in Delhi at present.

Timely intervention of Dhanak in the case helped in saving life of the couple as they

were out of their house for last 3 months. They are native of Shillong and were shunting from one place to another on train. Finally they decided to commit suicide in frustration as their attempt to get married failed due to cheating from advocate and Qazi in Shillong. They ran out of money and were surviving on biscuits. They saw hope in Dhanak and decided to come to Delhi.

B. Marriage Solemnisation Personal involvement and support by member couples to new couples during their marriage solemnisation and initial phase is one of the major achievements of Dhanak over the years. Before Dhanak, the aspiring couples were left on the mercy of advocates with vested interest. Finding witnesses was the biggest challenge for the aspiring couples. Situation has changed over the years due ever increasing membership base of Dhanak Very often newly married couples find social support and comfort from other couples , thus finding strength and solidarity to cope up during this very difficult and emotionally charged phase.

Members of Dhanak have played a significant role and were actively involved in the marriage solemnisation of 8 couples during the year.

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Shakila and Kranti who have earlier solemnised their marriage under Special Marriage Act under the supervision of Dhanak, decided to do Nikah to pacify the parents of Shakila. They were helped in their Nikah in Delhi in which Shakila’s father participated. Two male members of Dhanak became signatories in the Nikahnama. The couple is living and working in Delhi.

Honorary General Secretary of Dhanak was one of the witnesses in marriage solemnisation of Shaika & Utkal in the office of SDM Geeta Colony, East Delhi on 2nd June 2017. The couple engaged an advocate for the process but, Utkal was petrified as his family was informed by the Tehsildar of his jurisdiction in Alwar, Rajasthan. On receipt of copy of intended marriage form from the Marriage Officer in Delhi, the Tehsildar called the parents of Utkal and took in written that they do not support the marriage and are against it. The couple is staying and working in Delhi at present.

Ameen was forced to leave her house with Ashish in Hyderabad and came to Delhi for possible help and support for her marriage. Many members of Dhanak were witness in their Arya Samaj Marriage and Nikah on 14th and 15th June respectively. They were also provided accommodation by the members and the Honorary Secretary of Dhanak helped the couple in finding a rented accommodation near their house. The couple is working and staying in NCR at present.

Arun and Shireen had solemnized their marriage under Special Marriage Act 2 years ago with the help of Dhanak in district South West, New Delhi. They also started staying together but, Shireen was not getting acceptancel in her family. Finally, her parents accepted them after they agreed and organized Nikah for social acceptance. Dhanak members participated in Nikah on 17th July 2017 in Delhi. The couple is living in Faridabad.

Nayanee and Zohaib from Shillong decided to seek help of Dhanak after spending 3 months together out of their respective houses. They were forced to leave their houses due to their decision to get marriage to each other. They ran out of their savings during their 3 months period of transit mostly spent in trains. They were planning to commit suicide and then they contacted Dhanak over phone. After couple of phones they

6 disclosed that they have already left their houses. They decided to come to Delhi. The couple was helped during their marriage solemnisation on 15th July 2017 and their stay in Delhi. The couple also got job in Delhi due to Dhanak’s support and help.

Eesha and Ayub solemnised their marriage under Special Marriage Act on 11th August 2017 after a long effort of 2-3 months. The couple got determined to use SMA for their marriage after receiving legal counselling from Dhanak. They faced difficulty in submission of their online application for marriage solemnisation. However, they pursued their application with the support from Dhanak and managed to solemnise their marriage. The couple is staying in NOIDA.

Dhanak was contacted by Himmat for counselling and support for his marriage to Shiksha. The couple managed to solemnise its marriage under SMA from District South West Delhi on 20th November 2017 in which 2 members of Dhanak became witness. The couple stayed in Dhanak Safe Home after the marriage. Unfortunately, the marriage couldn’t last as Shiksha went to her house after a week even after understanding about the potential threat of going back to her house immediately after the marriage. Senior members of Dhanak meet with Siksha’s parents in one hotel in Nizamuddin, New Delhi and discussed about possibilities of returning Shiksha back with her husband. Shiksha’s parent didn’t respond to the decisions in meeting and Himmat moved to the court to seek legal help in resumption of his married life but, Shiksha declined to unite with Himmat before the judge.

Pratiksha and Purab arrived Delhi on 8th February 2018 from Rewa, Madhya Pradesh for help and support for their marriage. Their marriage was solemnised as per the Arya Samaj Rituals on the same day. The couple got protection from Delhi High Court on the next day and started staying in Dhanak Safe Home afterwards. The couple was suggested to go back to their native place and apply for registration of their marriage under SMA on the basis of marriage certificate issued by Arya Samaj. But, the couple was not comfortable in going back and continued staying for a month. The couple reappeared before the court on the next date and the family of Pratiksha managed to convince her. She decided to go back with her family. Later she realised her mistake after returning to her paternal house and has made several attempts to reunite with Purab but, Purab is taking his time to convince his family now. The couple is staying apart with their respective families and are seeking advice from Dhanak related to their reunion .

NOTE: Name of couples are changed for the purpose of confidentiality

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C. Solidarity Meets Solidarity meets are essential part of sharing and perspective building of couples and socialisation, association with other member couples even after their marriage.

5 solidarity meets were held on 17th June, 26th June, 15th July, 9th September and 25 November in houses of Dhanak Member couples in Delhi and NCR.

First solidarity meet was held in Gurgaon which was planned during the month of Ramzan. More 30 individuals participated in the meet. 2 couples aspiring for their marriage and 2 newly married couples were also present in the meet and the sharing and discussions were primarily focused around their pre-marriage and post-marriage counselling. A couple of research students also came and spoke to the couples regarding their research.

Second solidarity meet was organised in East Delhi. Around 15 individuals were present in the meeting. Besides regular sharing of personal experiences the participants also talked about the cases of honour crime being reported in the news. Journalists from The Wire took interview of Secretary of Dhanak and her family for their story.

Third meet was organised in an urban village in Faridabad where the host couple is staying with its joint family. 2 newly married couple were present in the meet. They were given gifts by the family members of the host couple.

Fourth and the fifth solidarity meets were held in South and North Delhi. Where again the aspiring couples sought guidance and the newly married couples shared their experiences. One of the host couples had to moved out of Delhi for the safety reasons after their marriage returned back to Delhi. So, potential threats to them from their families were discussed at length in the last meet.

D. Protection for Couples

The couple that is forced to leave its house without informing the family members for their alliance or the female who leaves her house after a clandestine marriage

8 with her partner anticipates or face legal action against the male partner, his family and friends. So they are left with no other option but to knock at the doors of the High Court.

6 such couples were provided legal help with the help of 2 General Body Members of Dhanak and an advocate who is associated with the cause of Dhanak.

A female who was forced to leave her house in Hyderabad with her partner for the sake of her marital alliance received protection in June 2017 from Delhi High Court. The couple did a religious marriage after coming to Delhi. Since a complaint was lodged by her family therefore, the Investigating Officer (I.O.) from Andhra police and family members of female came to meet with her in Delhi on 21st June 2017. The case was disposed-off so they met with each other in Police Station Hauz Khas before the appointed I.O. in the case in Delhi. Parents and 2 relatives of the female pressurised her to go with them but, she managed to deal with the pressure. Meeting lasted for 3 hours and they have to leave without the female.

Delhi High Court provided protection on 13th July 2017 to a couple that came to Delhi from Shillong for protection. The couple was already did a religious marriage but, didn’t had a certificate or any other proof of marriage. Therefore, they decided to go for a religious marriage again to get a proof of marriage. The couple was provided shelter for 2 weeks and later got a rented accommodation with the help of a Friend of Dhanak who is a social activist. He organised a meeting of I.O. from Meghalaya and family members of married couple in the office of Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) on 3rd August 2017. The couple withstood the pressures and managed to retain their relationship.

A couple based in a small town in Madhya Pradesh decided to exercise its right to choice and came to Delhi in the month of February 2018. They solemnised their marriage as per religious rituals and applied for protection in Delhi in February 2018. They received protection and the next date of hearing after 28 days of directions for protection. The couple was given accommodation in Dhanak Safe Home. They decided to stay in Delhi till their next date. On the fixed date of hearing family of female arrived in the court and emotionally blackmailed her. They managed to influence the female and the judge allowed the female and her family to proceed with the process of separation. The couple are staying with their families in their native place but, are in touch with each other.

A Delhi based couple sought legal help from Dhanak are their marriage solemnisation. The couple was helped for their marriage solemnisation by another organisation Love Commandos. The couple feared threat to their life from the family of the female. The couple was helped in seeking protection from High Courts of

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Delhi and Chandigarh. First they received protection at their place of stay in Delhi and then they received protection for writing their exams in Haryana to complete their course. The couple is staying and working in Delhi at present.

A Habeas Corpus petition was filed for a male who was not aware about of his wife. The couple married with the help of Dhanak but after 10 days the female decided to go back to her family to convince them in her favour. The couple decided that the female will stay for a month with her family and will return back even if she is unable to convince her family. The female borrowed some more time after a month. Later, mother of male fell unwell and went through a surgery. The required intervention to bring his partner got delayed and as a result the female stayed for 3- 4 months with her family. She was initially in touch with her husband over phone for 2 months but, was taken to her native palce in Bihar after that. Finally he decided to move a petition to know the status of his wife. The female declined to join her husband on the first date of hearing.

E. Safe Home for Couples

Dhanak Safe Home for Couples was opened in a rented accommodation in Laxmi Nagar in September 2017. It was a shared accommodation with part time employee of Dhanak. The reason for sharing the accommodation of Safe Home was take with consideration to 2 facts. One, it was very difficult to get a rested space for the purpose as no house owner was willing to allow visits of police to its house. Second, the rent of the space will be low in comparison to a space taken for the purpose of office.

The address of Home was shifted to another place in the same region in March 2018. The address was shifted as the person with whom the space was shared shifted to her native place. This time a flat of one of Dhanak’s senior couple was available for rent. So, the flat was taken on rent after a detailed discussion and approval from the Executive Board of the organisation.

The concerned police station and the office of Commissioner of Police are informed about the status and location of Safe Home in writing. Around 5 couples stayed in Dhanak Safe Home during the year. In two cases the couple stayed for 10-15 days. In another 2 cases the couple stayed for a day only and in 1 case the couple stayed for 21 days.

In all the cases the information about the stay of couple was shared with the concerned police station in writing.

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Most of the essentials for the Safe Home like furniture, ceiling fan, gas stove, gas cylinder, furniture and utensils are donated by Dhanak member couples based in Delhi/NCR. F. Meetings, Seminars & Event

The year started with a meeting on 15th April 2017 in the office of AALI in Lucknow, . AALI is an important member of Chayan - a network of organisations working on the issues of Right to Choose. The meeting was called to discuss the possibilities of promotion of a support group for couples who are exercising their right to choose in Lucknow and UP. Around 30 individuals participated in the meeting. These were individuals associated with NGOs, social activists and couples in mixed relationship. AALI took the responsibility of organising regular meetings on the issue.

Similarly, another meeting was organised on 7th September 2017 in S.M. Joshi Socialist Foundation, Pune, Maharashtra with the help of Chayan member organisation, Muslim Satya Shodhak Samaj. The meeting was clubbed with a talk on “Right to Choose Partner (Promoting inter-caste and inter-religion marriages and challenges faced)”. It was one of the 5 topics discussed in this state level Youth Conference on 7th, 8th and 9th Sept 2017. 30- 40 grass root level workers from all over Maharashtra participated in the training. Mahila Sarvangeen Utkarsh Mandal (MASUM) has been working on women’s and youth rights issues in two districts of Maharashtra state.

Dhanak’s Core Group interfaith couple represented Dhanak in Save India Convention Against Assault on Women’s Citizenship Rights on 8th December 2018 at Mawlankar Hall, New Delhi. The event was organised by AIDWA. The couple shared its view related to challenges to females who choose to be in an inter-faith marriage.

A 2 day workshop was organised on 23rd & 24th December 2018 in Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, New Delhi. The workshop was focussed on the

11 dynamics of marriage, role of gender and communication skills in marriage. The workshop has been organized for Dhanak members with the aim of providing opportunity to couples to stay together and share their experiences on inter faith marriage.

There were two sessions on day one. The first session “Dynamics of marriage and Role of gender” was taken by Dr.Shreya Jha. Defining gender, role of gender, Gender roles identified by society and problems in inter faith marriage were discussed in the first session.

The second session was taken by Dr. Shweta Verma. It focused on the communication skills in marriage. Communication spoilers, thought errors, Define perfect marriage, Common thinking distortions, and Communication skills in marriage and Dealing with criticism were the themes covered in the session.

Importance of religion in marriage was the topic for discussion on the second day which was coordinated by the senior member couples of Dhanak. Themes like defining religion, Conflicting stage in marriage because of religion, disputes related to children and sharing of information about the nature of marriage with society.

Participants liked the 3 sessions and they felt that such topics should be take place frequently so that they can share their problems and seek the solution from others who have experienced it. The sessions were informative and knowledgeable as each and every member of Dhanak shared their experiences. They blurt their emotions and feelings which were somewhere hidden in the corner of heart. They were happy that they seek the solutions also.

A meeting was held on 3rd December 2017 in Hauz Khas, New Delhi to discuss the topic of Love Jihad w.r.t. Hadiya case. The meeting was called to develop a common understanding on the issue. It was felt that a female has right to embrace a religion. She also has a right to choose her partner. Moreover, it was also felt that role of her religious fraternity is also crucial. The religious organisations can pump in money and resources if the case suites them. Same has happened in the case of Hadiya too.

12 An emergency meeting was organised on 27th Jan 2018 in Vasundhara, Ghaziabad. The meeting was organised to discuss about functioning and scope of Dhanak Whatsapp group. Some members of the group felt that their personal details can become public. Members were also concerned about the interpersonal relationship developed by being the member of group. Based on the decision in the meeting an advisory was issued to the members of the group w.r.t. the potential friendship and mutual support within them. The members that were feeling insecure in the group were informed that WhatsApp group is not the only source from where the personal details can be leaked since they also have their facebook and email account. The meeting helped in countering the seeping fear related to secrecy about personal identity. The importance of Dhanak and its objectives were reiterated to all in the group.

Dhanak participated in National Meeting for Advocating Defence and Support system for Women exiting Forced Marriages organised in YWCA, New Delhi on 24th May 2017. The Hony. General Secretary of the Dhanak was speaker in the meeting. The meeting was organised by Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives (AALI). Status of state run Shelter Homes and the potential challenges to couples were discussed in the meeting.

Pinjra Tod organised a public meeting and discussion on 15th Feb'18 at Arts Faculty (Delhi University, North Campus), titled "KARENGE POLITICS, KARENGE PYAAR: Sangh Parivaar – Bazaar – Khabardaar”. Dhanak was invited as one of the speakers and the Co- founders of Dhanak spoke in the event. Other speakers were Urmila (President, General Kamgar Union, JNU), Ramniwas (Maruti Suzuzi Workers Union), Dhiren (Guest Lecturer, Delhi University, queer poet and member of Queering Dalit collective), Akhil Katyal (Lecturer, Ambedkar University and queer poet), Seema (Manoj's sister who is fighting the court case seeking justice in the 'honour' killing of Manoj and Babli in Haryana), a member from Ektara Collective in Bhopal, Grace Banu (Transgender Dalit activist) and Uma Chakravarty (Member, Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression).

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SAHAS 2018

5th annual event SAHAS was celebrated from 2 to 7 pm on 14th February 2018 at Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi.

The event started with a march for promotion of peace and love. Around 100 individuals marched around the venue at ITO with the message, slogans and songs. Roses and message were distributed to people during the march that lasted for 1 hour. The march terminated after holding the placards and written messages around the traffic signal crossing near ITO.

During the first session the parents of couples in mixed marriage were felicitated due to their stand in support of mixed marriage for their children. Retired Group Caption Rajiv Tyagi spoke in length about his experience as father of a daughter who married to a person of her choice. He narrated the prevalent challenges for couples using special marriage act in the state of Uttar Pradesh. According to him, a very few couples dare to use the Act.

Social Activists Nisha Sidhu, Jagmati Sangwan and retired Maj. General Kuldip Singh Sindhu spoke about their experiences in the second session on “Myths related to Love Jihad”. Nisha from NFIW shared a few examples related to her work in Rajasthan. Similarly, Jagmati narrated various instances related to honour crimes in the state of Haryana and the politics of forces working against the mixed marriages. Major Sindhu shared his experience as father of a daughter in mixed marriage and prevalence of syncretism in society from quotes from holy books.

Third and final session was focussed on recognition of Friends of Dhanak (FoD) and felicitation of couples in mixed marriage. Friends of Dhanak are the individuals that are not a member of Dhanak but, have helped the couples for their financial and other needs. Around 25 couples were felicitated during the event. Couples from

14 organisations from Haryana and Arya Samaj Santha also were invited and felicitated in the function.

A short film on right to choose made by AADI organisation working on the rights for disables was given the award for best video received for visual art competition on mixed marriage/family. A cheque of Rs.7000/- was handed over to the representatives from AADI.

ADVOCACY & AWARENESS

A. Memorandum to Chief Minister of Delhi A memorandum with suggestions was submitted to the chief minister of Delhi on 7th December 2017 in the public meeting.

Following a few recommendations were made to curb Honour Crimes/Killings in Delhi:  Opening of Government Protection Homes in Delhi for Couples in Need.  Inclusion of Inter-Religion Marriage in Incentivization of Inter-Caste Marriage Scheme  Appointment of a Gazetted Officer specifically for the purpose of marriage registration/solemnization to increase registration of marriage.  Public Awareness Campaign against Honour Crime.  Formation of a Monitoring Committee/Board  Provision of using address proof from any state of India for marriage solemnisation and registration.  No pasting of photographs of marrying couple in Schedule –II from.

B. Meetings with Delhi Commission for Women

Representatives of Dhanak, AIDWA and Aman Biradari Trust met with Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women in the month of March 2018 regarding exploring potential intervention for the Shazia, partner of late Ankit after his honour killing. The Chairperson shared her limitations as the criminal proceedings in the case were on. However, she was open for recommendations for safe home for couples and other related suggestions.

Therefore, following recommendations were given to the Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women in March 2018:

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a. Opening of Homes for Couples in Need

Establishment of Protection Homes in NCT Delhi. Protection home will be of great respite for individuals and couples who decide to exercise the constitutional provision for right to choice in marriage.

Such Protection Homes will also act as Legal Counseling & Guidance Centre for couples or individuals. It can also be used by the aspiring couples for seeking legal and other help. The centre shall also be used for counseling the couples in mixed marriages whose life are under threat due to their decision to marry a person without their parents’ consent. The couples keep hiding at various places from police and others. If they are aware that they have a safe place to seek refuge under such situation, the cases situation will lead to decrease in honour crimes.

b. Incentivisation of Inter-Religion Marriage

Most of the states in India are implementing Incentivisation of Inter-Caste Marriage Scheme. The scheme is being implemented to combat the evils of casteism. Similarly, Govt. of NCT Delhi is implementing “Incentive of Inter-Caste Marriage Scheme” since the year 2007.

Dhanak recommended inclusion of inter-religion couples too as inter-religion marriage is equally challenging for couples. Moreover, by doing so, the govt. of Delhi will set an example to other states too in the name of communal harmony.

C. Meeting for potential petition in Supreme Court

Couple of meetings were fixed with advocate Vrinda Grover to take the limitations in the Special Marriage Act to the Supreme Court of India. Copies of circulars and notifications issued by various state governments and other related documents collected by Dhanak Resource Centre over the years are being shared with her. A colleague of advocate Vrinda is working on the draft of potential petition.

6 April – my partner, my choice – so no to forced marriage campaign (posting of photos with message

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Case Study on Misuse of Power by the Marriage Officer

Utkal & Shaika were staying and working in Delhi before they got in touch with Dhanak. Shaika was working as a teacher in a government school in Delhi and Utkal was working in a private company. Utkal contacted Dhanak for counselling and guidance for his marriage. He came and met alone first and then came with Shaika on the second time after he was asked to bring his female partner to understand her stand in the joint decision relation their marriage. All the required information and documents were shared with the couple for their marriage solemnisation. They informed that Shaika needs more time due to her job.

Dhanak was contacted by the couple when they needed witnesses for their marriage solemnisation under the Special Marriage Act. Details of a witness were shared with the couple. Later during the same month, Utkarsh informed that he took services of an advocate for submission of his application u/s. 5 of the SMA. He also informed that his parents have come to know about his date of marriage on the basis of information sent by the marriage officer at East Delhi u/s 6(3) of SMA. The Tehsildar at his native place in Rajasthan has called his parents in his office and taken his written consent against the marriage of their son.

On the date of solemnisation of marriage Utkal was too tensed as he was expecting appearance of his parents to stop the marriage. However, the parents didn’t come and his marriage was solemnised.

The couple decided to stay apart till an appropriate time before moving together. The couple moved in together after ceremonies of Nikah and Satpati from both the families. They both are staying and working in Delhi at present.

The practice used by the marriage officer in Delhi is an arbitrary and detrimental. As per section 6(3) of the Act, he is supposed to send a copy of the schedule II and not a letter of enquiry. He chose to send a letter of enquiry to the concerned SDM, Police Station and Municipal Council to submit their report. The issued letters resulted in disclosure of marital plans of the couple and has severely jeopardised the marriage solemnisation of the couple.

SOLIDARITY WITH VICTIM OF HONOUR CRIME

Delhi was shocked to learn about the brutal honour killing of Ankit Saxena in West Delhi. The boy was killed by the family of his partner on 3rd February 2018. Dhanak team members visited the bereaved family on 11th February 2018 of boy and to understand the truth behind the incident. After visiting the house of Ankit, the team visited two mosques in the vicinity. After interaction it was learnt that it was a planned murder and not an act of anger. They met with the parents and cousin brother of Ankit. An attempt as also made to provide essential help and counselling

17 to Shazia, partner of Ankit by meeting with the Chairperson of DCW in the month of February 2018. It was a joint visit with representatives of AIDWA and Aman Biradari Trust.

An online crowd fundraising campaign was launched on 27th February 2018 with the help of Ketto. Team members of Dhanak visited Ankit’s house on his birthdate on 22 March 2018 and participated in the organised function by his family. An amount of Rs.1.32 lakhs collected through online fundraising campaign was transferred to the account of Sh. Yahpal Saxena, father of late Ankit Saxena on that day. Around Rs.3 lakhs were raised during the campaign with active participation and posting of appeals by Dhanak at various forums. Dhanak disassociated itself from the campaign once the family decided to throw an Iftaar party. The online campaign continued till June 2018 and Ketto raised Rs.5.06 lakhs from 218 donors http://contribute.crowdnewsing.com/fundraiser/AnkitSaxena

STUDY & RESEARCH

Daniel Sager wrote and met in the month of April. He is a documentary filmmaker from Germany. He was doing a research concerning love marriage in India and couples who try to find a way to go for their wishes. He wanted to produce a film for the German television/cinema, which gives the audience a deeper inside into a growing movement of young Indians. He didn’t revert after a meeting.

Garima Dahiya, a student of anthropology at Colby College, USA contacted Dhanak in the month of June. She was writing a thesis on inter-religious marriages. The date of submission of study is the year 2020.

Amna Majeed, a research scholar at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta got in touch with Dhanak in the month of October. She was writing MPhil thesis on Interreligious marriages and the aspects of its daily life. During her research she intended to interact with interreligious families as well organisations that work directly with couples that wish to intermarry. The study is published in the April 2018

Paper was published on Sage Publications on 1st November 2017 on Inter-faith Marriages & Negotiated Space. Paper is written by Dr. Shweta Verma and Neelam Sukhramani. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2393861717730620

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PUBLICATIONS & AWARENESS

SAHAS souvenir was published as an annual feature. It has collection of stories and personal experiences of couples and individuals with respect to mixed marriage.

A handbook Samvaad was published in addition to SAHAS. FAQs for aspiring couples/individuals were also published in response to the general questions asked by couple seeking help. The handbook also covers potential questions that the couple will face. It is being shared with each new couple. Cost of publication is met with received donation from Mr. Surendra Kapur and Dr. Farhat, a senior member couple from Mumbai.

In the Visual Art Competition was launched in the month of December. The publicity about the campaign was done online and by posters. The competition had 3 categories of painting, video and writing on mixed marriage and family. An award money of Rs.7000/- was fixed in each category.

A short film on story of Meenu and Sam was found to be very good and was declared a winner. It won the award in the category of video. The video, when shared on our FB page has received very positive reviews. Remaining 2 categories didn’t get the required response therefore; the same competition will be launched in the next year. https://www.facebook.com/dhanak.interfaithmarriages/videos/1015550 8287162582/

Online Video Campaign – Meri Zindagi Mera Faisla, Mylife My Choice was launched in December 2017 in which members of Dhanak and other responsible citizens uploaded their video message related to their choice in marriage and other important decisions in their life. The videos reached to several viewers and served its purpose.

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DHANAK IN MEDIA

1. Three member couples of Dhanak appeared in Zindigi Live Returns, TV program on 15th April 2017 at ETV Hindi of Channel 18. Richa Anirudh hosted the program. https://youtu.be/KPwTM9QhwZQ

2. Members of Dhanak appeared in NDTV Prime Time program on Kerala ‘Love Jihad’ Case: Truth or Hype? The program was aired live on 17th August 2017. It was after the Supreme Court of India directed NIA enquiry related to cases related interfaith marriages in Kerala. https://www.ndtv.com/video/shows/agenda/kerala-love-jihad-case-truth-or- hype-465572

3. Dhanak team were featured in NDTV Prime Time on 17th August 2017 in a program -Tales of Interfaith Marriages Amidst 'Love Jihad' Controversies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y-uACK4B8s 4. Dhanak was represented by its Co-founder in We The People from gram of NDTV on 11th February 2018. It was a debate on the identity of children in school based on a book written by writer Nazia Erum. The program was hosted by Sarah Jacob http://www.facebook.com/ndtv/videos/10156338424355798/ https://www.ndtv.com/video/shows/we-the-people/we-the-people-hate-in- the-hallways-478647 5. Secretary of Dhanak appeared in a CNN-IBN program Epicenter on 8th March 2018 related to debate on Hadiya’s case of Love Jihad. Hosted by Marya Shakil https://youtu.be/uYgywLJ2XpI 6. Dhanak and its annual event SAHAS was covered The Quit, BBC and on 14th February 2018. Following are the web-links of the published news https://www.thequint.com/news/india/valentines-day-this-interfaith-couple- put-their-lives-at-risk-to-get-married

20 https://m.timesofindia.com/city/delhi/no-jihad-in-love-say-interfaith-couples- on-v-day/amp_articlehow/62923079.cms?_twitter_impression=true https://www.thequint.com/lifestyle/life/how-sneha-and-zakir-fought-aa-odds- to-be-together

DHANAK TEAM

Interviews for the post of Assistant Program Executive (APE) were held on 24th April 2017 after publicizing about the post at devnetjobsindia.org and Ms. Diksha Verma was appointed as APE on 24th June 2017 as a full timer.

Following persons are managing the administration of the organisation: 1. Asif Iqbal Honorary General Secretary 2. Shabana Siddiqui Honorary Secretary 3. Ms. Ranu Kulshrestha Co-Founder 4. Shailaja Rao Core Group & General Body Member 5. Ms. Akanksha Sharma Core Group Member 6. Mr. Mohd. Shoaib Core Group Member 7. Mr. Danyal Core Group Member 8. Ms. Shweta Verma Core Group Member 9. Sumit Chauhan Core Group Member 10. Ms. Diksha Verma Assistant Program Executive

The General Secretary is involved with Dhanak of Humanity endeavours and administration in the capacity of honorary full time worker. Others volunteered their time and expertise according to the requirements and availability.

There are other active member couples who extend their support and help as and when they are requested or they are available.

Dhanak is also helped by a sizable number non-member volunteers and friends.

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RESOURCE MOBILISATION AND FINANCES

A. Total Proceeds (April 2017 – March 2018)

S.No. Source Amount (Rs.) 1 Annual Membership 89,600.00 2 Donations 5,15,000.00 4 Interest on FD 6,625.00 5 Bank Interest 4,315.00 A Total 6,15,540.00

B Balance at bank as on 1,10,645.84 01.04.2017

C (A+B) 7,26,085.84

B. Expenditure Profile

Broad details of expenditure during the financial year 2017-18:

S.No. Head Amount (Rs.) 1 Program Expenses (Conference, 1,53,013.00 Seminar, Perspective Building, Data Collection) 2 Solidarity Support 17,000.00 (Groups/Couples/Individuals) 3 Dhanak Safe Home 77,430.00 4 Honorarium 65,000.00 5 Core cost/Administration 1,592.00 6 Bank Charges 70.35 Total 2,09,105.35

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Dhanak Of Humanity

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