Caste or Class? How A Father Became The Villain in A Love Story

In the heart of Hyderabad, a man attacked his daughter Madhavi & son-in-law Sandeep for marrying against his wishes.

Sandeep and Madhavi got married in a nearby temple in Hyderabad.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Days after 20-year-old Amrutha lost her husband to caste-violence in Telangana, another inter-caste couple was attacked in broad daylight in the heart of Hyderabad.

Madhavi, 22, born into the Backward Class community, had married her long-time lover Sandeep, 24, who hails from the Scheduled Caste community, against her family’s wishes. Her father, Manoharachary, attacked his daughter and son-in-law with a machete and left them with grievous injuries in the busy SR Nagar area of Hyderabad on 19 September.

Manoharachary had called the couple to meet on the pretext of missing his daughter. As soon as they reached the meeting point, he took out a machete from his bag and attacked them.

He had initially targeted his son-in-law and when the latter fell to the ground, he attacked his daughter. Madhavi, who suffered deep cuts on the neck and one hand, is still recovering from the shock.

How Their Love Blossomed

The duo had met five years ago at an exam centre. After they fell in love, they continued to talk and meet in private against Madhavi's family's wishes.

“I had met Madhavi in 2013 at an examination centre for our Class 10 exam. I had proposed to her in 2014. In 2015, Madhavi’s family had come to know about us and her mother and relatives had come over and scorned me about our caste. Then we kept talking secretly till 2018 and we got married on 12 September at a temple nearby.”

The girl's family refused to accept the marriage but on being counselled by the police they agreed to accept it. The couple claims that Madhavi's mother and brother had both known about their plans of getting married and had tried to convince them out of it.

Caste or Class, What Spurred the Attack?

While the couple claimed that the attack was a case of caste-violence, Madhavi’s brother insists that they did not like Sandeep since he did not match up to their “class”.

“My sister Madhavi looks very beautiful unlike Sandeep. I have heard he is not even a good person. Moreover, he is just working at a local hotel. How can we let our sister marry anyone?”

Sai Krishna, Madhavi’s Brother

However, her brother claims nobody in the family expected Manoharachary to attack the couple. He says the decision was taken by her father in a dangerously drunken state. The attacker had later gone to police station and surrendered.

What Future Holds

Madhavi, who has vowed to stick with Sandeep through thick and thin, says she is not sure if she will ever be able to forgive her father, while Sandeep, who still sports deep bruises on his cheeks and lips, wishes for a future without caste discrimination.

“I have no caste feeling. Everybody should stay in harmony and not discriminate between castes.”

Sandeep