After a two-year-long wait, Kailash Kanwar (23) and Chaggan Kanwar (24) crossed the Indo-Pakistan border on Monday and reunited with their families in India.
The two women, who hail from Sinoi village in Umerkot district in Pakistan, are married to Nepal Singh and Mahinder Singh, who live in Jaisalmer and Barmer districts, respectively.
Caught in the web of strained Indo-Pak ties, many cross-border couples have been separated.
However, on Monday, one month after the Indian High Commission granted them permission, Kailash and Chaggan along with, parents of a third woman, who is married to an Indian national and a 14-month-old child reached India after crossing the Indo-Pak border at Wagah.
"It feels so good to return home. This was long due. I can't express my happiness. Our entire village is celebrating,” Kailash said. She had tied the knot to Nepal Singh in Sindh in January 2019. Kanwar crossed the border along with her 14-month-old son.
Similarly, for Chaggan Kanwar, reuniting with her family felt like a dream come true. "Whenever I used to video call my husband. I used to cry. All this time we have tried every option to return. Now it finally feels good", Chaggan said.
While these two women were able to reunite with their spouses, a third woman Nirmal Kanwar was unable to return.
"There was some technical issue with her passport. I am sure we will be able to solve it soon. However, I am happy that at least my in-laws were able to make it this time,” Nirmal’s husband Vikram Singh, who hails from Rajasthan’s Baiya village said.
The three couples tied the knot in Pakistan during January-February 2019. After their weddings, the grooms who hail from Rajasthan stayed in Pakistan for 90 days to obtain valid marriage proof for a visa for their wives.
However, the equation between the two countries changed after February 2019 when a terrorist attack in Pulwama left scores of CRPF personnel dead. Following the Pulwama attack, India changed its visa rules, making them more stringent.
And soon after, the Covid-19 pandemic, dashed all hopes of the couples to reunite.
Speaking to Outlook, Union minister of state for agriculture and BJP MP from Barmer, Kailash Choudhary, who has been making trying to help out these couples, said, "I have maintained regular contact with the foreign ministry, the Indian high commissioner and the home ministry over this issue. Today, I am extremely happy that I was able to witness these families reunite.”
He added that owing to some reason one of the brides couldn't get a visa because her passport was blacklisted.
"But I am constantly trying to ensure that she returns home at the earliest", he added.
The Sodha Rajputs are a clan of the Parmar Rajput dynasty, based in the Umerkot district of Pakistan’s Sindh. Parmar Rajput dynasty reigned over Malwa in central India from the 9th century onwards. The Sodhas administered southeast of the Sindh province in Pakistan and still follow the tradition of getting their daughters married to Rajput families in the border districts of Rajasthan.
