‘She’s as good as dead to us’: West Bengal family performs living daughter’s last rites after her interfaith marriage

Nadia (West Bengal): In a startling case of familial rejection, a young woman in West Bengal’s Nadia district has been declared "dead" by her own family—despite being very much alive—after she chose to marry a man from another faith.

The woman, a second-year college student, reportedly eloped and got married 12 days ago, going against the wishes of her family that had already selected another groom for her. In response, the family conducted a full-fledged 'shradh' ceremony, a Hindu ritual traditionally performed to honour the deceased.

“She is as good as dead to us,” said her uncle Somnath Biswas while speaking to local media.

He said they had arranged a marriage for her, but she did not even listen to them. He added that she brought disrepute by leaving them that way.

The family went so far as to observe all mourning rituals—shaving their heads, placing a garlanded photograph of the woman before a priest and performing ceremonial rites typically reserved for someone who has passed away. Her mother told reporters they had also burned all of her belongings in a symbolic act of erasure.

While no one in the family directly cited the man’s religion as the cause of their drastic reaction, the subtext was hard to miss. The family’s refusal to accept the union appears deeply rooted in interfaith prejudice, cloaked in the language of honour and tradition.

Her father, currently living abroad, was not present. However, according to Biswas, he supported the family's decision to sever ties with her.

The young woman is now living with her husband’s family elsewhere in Nadia and, according to local sources, has been receiving mental health counselling to help her cope with the emotional fallout.

Meanwhile, a senior police official said that they are aware of the situation, but since the woman is an adult and no official complaint has been lodged, there’s little they can do at this point.