Indian couple teased over skin color after wedding video goes viral

Rishabh Rajput and Sonali Chouksey met in college 11 years ago, fell in love and got married last month.

Gorgeous wedding photos and videos show the happy couple from the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh going through the ceremony, getting dressed and posing.

But when the couple shared their happiest moments on social media, the congratulatory messages were mixed with ‘jokes and memes’ from trolls comparing and criticizing the couple over the groom’s skin color.

In India, where the obsession with fair skin color is well-documented and can sometimes lead to tragic consequences, the groom was severely shamed online and called a “darker skinned”.

The trolls didn’t spare the bride either, with many suggesting she married him “for his money”.

“She must have had some kind of obsession,” one person wrote. Another suggested that she could not be happy with a husband like that. Some people called her a “gold digger” because she married him for his wealth or to get a stable government job with perks. One comment suggested that Mr Rajput’s father must be a “government minister”.

The couple, who married on November 23, have since gone viral as they tackle trolling and criticism head-on. They have been receiving calls from local media and have been interviewed numerous times over the past two weeks.

“People were making jokes and memes and it seemed very wrong,” Prime Minister Rajput told BBC Hindi at his home in Jabalpur.

“It was our moment and we’ve been waiting for it for years. It should have been a happy moment, but we were really shocked to see people’s reactions,” he said.

He added: “In all the years we’ve been together, no one has ever told us we’re unsuited because I’m darker-skinned and she’s fairer.”

The offensive comments left the couple, who both work in private companies, embarrassed.

Ms Chouksey admitted the comments “distressed” her. “Do you think this is how people perceive us? It annoys me when people say nasty things about him or call me a gold digger.”

In a post on Instagram, Prime Minister Rajput said, “I am sorry to disappoint you. I am not a civil servant, but I work hard for my family and want to give them a good and dignified life.”

He added that Sonali fell in love with him when he had nothing. “From college to now, she’s been there for me through the good times and the bad. People’s negative opinions mean nothing to me,” he wrote.

Mr Rajput also addressed the issue of colorism, saying he had faced skin color discrimination throughout his life.

“I know I have dark skin, but in her eyes, I’m trying to be the best husband I can be, and that’s the most important thing. You don’t have to talk bad about my family.”

Mr Rajput said he backed off when trolls started commenting on one of the photos of his mother and his wife’s sisters together.

“I didn’t like the fact that they targeted my family. I want to tell them you are nobody and you have no right to target or troll anyone’s family,” he said.

The pair, who first met in a college zoology class in 2014, say they shouldn’t let outsiders judge their lives.

“Our relationship started after a year and from then on we knew we would get married one day. People who watch the 30-second video and comment on our relationship don’t know that it captures the hard work we put in for 11 years,” Rajput said.

“Sonali always said that when we get married, the whole village has to watch, but today it seems like the whole world is watching,” he says.

The attention, the couple agrees, feels good in some ways. But Mr Chouksey added that these comments were hurtful to the family. “For people it may just be something they see on social media, but it’s our lives. And it can destroy someone’s family.”

The couple has also addressed colorism in several interviews.

“We live in India, where people from different regions have different skin colors. And fair skin doesn’t necessarily make someone a good person. So how can you judge someone based on their skin color?” Mr. Chouksey asks.

“About 70 to 80 per cent of Indians have darker skin tones, but the Indian mentality is that the fairer the better. It is time to change that notion,” says Rajput.

And to those who say the two are not compatible, he asks: “When you look at us, do we look the least bit unhappy? No, because we have what most people don’t have. I have her and she has me.”