Although the law, as is its wont in India, will take its time to deliver justice in the Rizwanur Rahman-Priyanka Todi case, there is little disagreement in ongoing public debate that, prima facie, Rizwanur was discriminated against on religious and class terms.

A lower-middle-class Muslim man, Rizwanur married Priyanka, the daughter of a rich and powerful Hindu family, and paid with his life for his ‘temerity’ to marry outside his caste, community and socio-economic background. The courts and the CBI have barely begun investigations, but the Indian public has already pronounced its verdict. Fair or not, popular opinion holds not only that Rizwanur was the victim of deep-rooted intolerance and there is something very fishy about his death but also that the Kolkata Police has tried to cover up a hate crime.

The average citizen has learned through lived experience to look upon such matters with cynicism and resignation. The complicity of the police with the rich and powerful is a matter of deja vu for the aam aadmi. Just as the law being twisted to protect the elite is perceived as a routine affair. The active role of civic sector organisations and NGOs in coming out in support of Rizwanur’s family and demanding answers from the establishment in a civilised manner, however, is a welcome change from the two extremes of rioting and apathy.

While a lot has been said about the issue from Rizwanur’s point of view, Priyanka’s side of the story is less discussed. Members of the West Bengal Women’s Commission that visited Priyanka on October 9 say that although grief-stricken, Priyanka is poised and wants to move on to live a normal life outside the public glare. Yet the reason Priyanka’s story elicits such interest is that, whether she wants it or not, she has become the poster girl for discriminations against women. Put simply, ordinary Indian women struggling against the oppressions of our male-centric society identify and empathise with Priyanka.

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