A local council (called panchayat) in northern India has banned unmarried women from carrying mobile telephones to halt a series of illicit romances between partners from different castes, media reports said Wednesday.
At least 23 young couples ran away and got married over the last year against their parents’ wishes.
The Hindu rules of inter-caste marriages are complicated and extremely rigid in many rural communities in India, with some lovers even murdered in ‘honour killings’ by relatives trying to protect their family’s reputation.