Born in an ordinary village in Kannur, an ordinary girl dreamed of becoming a nun when she grew up. A Dalit youth from a village in Tamil Nadu who is the first to graduate.
The girl and the young man are CPM leaders D Raja and Annie Raja. Their love and marriage crossed the boundaries of caste, religion and language. The two met for the first time during a party event. Annie was leading the CPI’s women’s march from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram. About fifty girls participated in the women’s march, but Raja noticed only Annie.
Her caring and loving demeanor towards those around her, her vivaciousness and poise all caught Raja’s attention. A young man named Raja, who is well-read and has a firm attitude, also took a place in Annie’s mind. So the two fell in love. Annie later went to Moscow to study. Raja would wait at the Coimbatore railway station to receive Annie when she returned home during the holidays.
They were jokingly called King and Queen by their relatives and friends. The love of both became stronger. Finally the Raja invited Annie into his life. The marriage did not raise much opposition from the families of both the families. Annie’s was a Christian family. Annie’s communist father allowed the youngest of his six children to marry as she pleased.
Although illiterate, Raja’s mother, who held values in life, did not stop her son’s love. So they got married on January 8, 1990 breaking the barriers of caste, religion and language with the full consent of everyone. Annie says caste has always been the biggest problem India has ever faced. She recalls the problems her dear friend, who was a Dalit Christian, faced on account of caste.
Annie was also teased by others for walking with her Dalit friend. Those events brought him closer to the Dalits and their problems. Annie Raja says that her favorite color then and now is black and black is a strong colour. After the wedding, Annie saw and heard glimpses of the life of all Dalits even when she reached Raja’s village in Tamil Nadu.
Raja’s small house did not even have a toilet. Among other things, Raja’s mother prepared beef curry specially prepared for her daughter-in-law. Raja’s mother told Annie that her son could only read and write and that she should take good care of him. Both of them later moved to Chennai and then to Delhi to settle their lives. Annie worked at various jobs to make ends meet.
Caste and religion were never discussed in Ani and Raja’s family. They did not provide an opportunity for it. Aparajita Raja, the only daughter, was not assigned any religion or caste. When people asked about Aparajita’s caste and religion, she replied that she was just an ordinary human being.
Annie asks what’s wrong with intermarriage. Religion is only a personal matter of people. A true believer can never create problems in the name of religion. Annie Adi firmly believes that caste and religion are used by people as a cover to protect their personal interests and as a way to create problems in the society. Raja also says that if we realize that everyone is just a human being, then we will naturally understand that humans are social beings.
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