Indian Man Hoping to Save His Marriage Separated By Caste System; Creates Petition

Gangadharan Natarajan, an Indian man currently living in Connecticut, has started a Change.org petition in the hopes of garnering enough support to protect his marriage to his wife who is now residing in India.

Hartford, Connecticut (MMD Newswire) May 22, 2015 — Gangadharan Natarajan is a loving husband desperate to reconnect with his wife and protect his marriage that has been threatened by the Indian caste system. Gangadharan has started a Change.org petition in the hopes of garnering enough support to petition his father-in-law to allow the marriage to be restored.

Gangadharan met his wife Kiruthika at work in 2009. The two were working on the same project team, and as they became more acquainted, a working relationship blossomed into love. Gangadharan proposed in March 2010 on Kiruthika’s birthday, and she accepted.

“I was dumbstruck when Kiruthika accepted my marriage proposal and felt like I was the luckiest person in the world. There was nothing more that I needed in my life,” says Gangadharan. “We were planning to get married once both of us were financially stable. We met each other’s families and started spending more and more time together. I became so close with my future in-laws that they would often stay at my home when they were visiting Chennai.”

In October 2012, Kiruthika’s H1 Visa was processed and she moved to the U.S and started work in Utah. She returned briefly to India in October 2013 to celebrate Gangadharan’s birthday. At that time, it became apparent that Kiruthika’s family would never accept an inter-caste marriage between the two so Gangadharan began making preparations for the move to U.S. He received his H1 Visa in January 2014 and started work in Hartford, Connecticut.

The primary issue for the couple is that Gangadharan and Kiruthika come from different castes in India and inter-caste marriages are typically not allowed or accepted. India’s caste system was developed to segregate people based on hereditary occupations. Kiruthika belongs to a community in the Erode District, in the Kongu Nadu region of the state of Tamil Nadu in Southern India. This community believes their caste to be superior to others and does not support inter-caste marriage.

“Despite our differences, our love and relationship was strong and we decided to marry on March 1, 2014 at the Sri Ganesh Temple in South Jordan, Utah,” reflects Gangadharan. “I can still remember the twinkle in her eyes and the happiness mixed with shyness in her face the moment we got married. I miss that moment a lot now.”

Unfortunately, the newlywed’s happiness did not last long. In January 2015, Kiruthika was called back to India because her grandmother was very sick and dying. Since returning to India, Gangadharan has lost contact with his wife. His in-laws have even gone so far as to try to marry Kiruthika off to another man. But, upon learning she was already married, the other man called off the arrangement.

Gangadharan has tried numerous times to call both his father-in-law and brother-in-law in the hopes of discussing the situation and restoring his marriage. The family refuses to accept the calls to have any discussion. They would not even acknowledge the marriage. Gangadharan has been left with no choice other than to follow legal procedures in India to restore his marriage, however, he has had little success to date.

“I understand my father in-law’s anxiety and social inhibitions. He has taken care of my wife, Kiruthika since she was a baby and only wants the best for her,” adds Gangadharan. “However, I hope he puts his daughter’s wellbeing before social and communal inhibitions and lets us live a happy life. I love my wife a lot and promise to honor, respect, and cherish his daughter.”

To date, Gangadharan’s in-laws have made no attempt to contact him or discuss the situation. He is hoping the Change.org petition “Protect My Marriage” will work to persuade his in-laws to open dialogue and allow his marriage to be restored. To learn more or sign the petition, please visit www.protectmymarriage.com.

About ProtectMyMarriage.com

Gangadharan Natarajan is a loving husband desperate to reconnect with his wife and protect his marriage that has been threatened by the Indian caste system. Gangadharan has started a Change.org petition in the hopes of garnering enough support to petition his father-in-law to allow the marriage to be restored. To learn more or sign the petition, please visit www.protectmymarriage.com. There is also a Facebook page set up to help support the cause.