Durban — After successfully lobbying the Home Affairs department to consider making Diwali Day an official public holiday, the South African Hindu Maha Sabha (SAHMS) is now pushing the government to recognise Hindu marriages.

The government has recently recognised Muslim marriages but left out Hindu marriages. This sparked anger among Hindu communities which led to the SAHMS and other lobby groups to embark on a campaign to push for the recognition of Hindu marriages.

Speaking to the Daily News on Thursday, SAHMS president Ashwin Trikamjee said Hindus were concerned about the government's decision to not recognise their marriages in this modern day, stating that they have requested a meeting with Home Affairs officials to discuss the matter next week.

“We will be meeting Home Affairs next week on the matter. It's no good that Hindu marriages remain unrecognised in this country,” said Trikamjee.

Adding his voice on the matter, Pastor Ethan Ramkuar of Survival Centre said he too had written to Home Affairs asking the same question, saying the Home Affairs’ response was promising as it indicated that the matter was being considered.

In a letter Ramkuar wrote to Home Affairs earlier this month, he questioned the department’s position, saying what it was doing was against the constitution which recognises all religions and cultures equally.

He said the parliament should have long passed the legislation that makes all marriages lawful and legal in the country since it is enshrined in the constitution.

Ramkuar added that it did not make sense for the constitution to recognise all religions and cultures but did not recognise the most important social part of religions which is marriage.

Home Affairs, in its response to Survival Centre’s letter seen by the Daily News, said: “Please be advised that a bill dealing with marriages in South Africa is before Parliament. The bill seeks to recognise all marriages without regard to religion or culture.”

After marrying in a temple by a pastor, a Hindu couple will still have to go to Home Affairs and exchange vows before the department’s marriage counsellor before their marriage is recognised legally whereas in Christianity, a pastor will marry the couple and then go himself to Home Affairs to register the marriage or one of the couple can go with pastor’s marriage certificate to register their marriage at the Home Affairs.

Years ago, the government was forced to recognise customary law marriages for couples who were traditionally married.

The recognition of such marriages was necessitated by a bitter row over the will of the late husband who had married in a civil marriage with another wife he had found in the urban areas, during the first industrial revolution where most men left their wives in rural areas for work in the big cities.

Because the state recognised civil marriages, customary law wives were deprived of their spousal rights to benefit from their late husband’s pension and other material benefits.

Home Affairs spokesperson Siyabulela Qoza confirmed that the Bill was currently undergoing public hearing by Parliamentarians, which is the last phase as it is the Parliament that will pass it into law

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