On the day of his wedding, Ashok Jain’s parents beat him
mercilessly after he told them he married a Hindu woman. “They
didn’t accept my marriage,” said Mr. Jain, whose family
practices Jainism, an ancient Indian religion that emphasizes
non-violence. “They asked me to walk out of the home without
anything… without even a toothbrush.” Ashok Jain left his
parents’ home in New Delhi 34 years ago with nothing but the
clothes on this back. His marriage to Neena, a Bengali Hindu,
tore his family apart; his parents, completely baffled by their
son’s desire to marry outside his Jain religion, disowned him.
He would not see his parents until his son’s first birthday,
five years later. In a traditional Indian marriage, partners are
arranged for children by their parents, often at very young
ages. The idea of wedding for love — let alone outside of one’s
community — is seen historically as taboo. But Mr. Jain’s story
of breaking conventional attitudes toward marriage constitutes a
growing trend in India’s urban communi