India, March 8 -- Do adult Indians have the right to marry whoever they want without parental permission? That may sound like a rhetorical question, but it could soon become a legal issue. Of course, under our Constitution and our present laws, girls over 18 and boys over 21 can marry whoever they want, regardless of region, religion and caste. Article 21 has been interpreted to guarantee this. Sadly, that doesn't include gender, though they can live with someone of their own sex. As recently as 2021, the Supreme Court in the Laxmibai Chandaragi B case ruled that "the consent of the family or the community or the clan is not necessary once the two adult individuals agree to enter into a wedlock and that their consent has to be piously given primacy". The government of Gujarat, however, seems to disagree. The deputy chief minister (CM), Harsh Sanghavi, has proposed amendments to the Gujarat Registration of Marriages Act 2006, which, as newspapers have summarised, make "consent of parents compulsory for registration of a marriage." One can assume that what Sanghavi said in the assembly makes clear his real concern. "Under the name of love jihad, a game is being played in the state. If any Salim changes his identity and becomes Suresh to trap innocent girls, he will be taught a lesson for life . this government is the protector of every daughter's dignity and of our sanatan tradition." You won't be wrong if you conclude that the idea is to stop Muslim boys from marrying Hindu girls. The deputy CM couldn't have been more blunt. And the process the proposed amendment lays out is clearly intended to deter, not facilitate. For a start, the marriage registration application has to be submitted with the signatures of both parties as well as two witnesses. It must be legally notarised, and it must be accompanied by proof of identity of both the boy and the girl, issued by the central government or the state government, such as a driving licence, passport or photo identity card. But that's not all. The application also has to enclose what newspapers call "the details of documents of the bride and groom, including aadhaar card, birth certificate or school leaving certificates, wedding invitation, two passport size photographs as well as photographs of the witnesses and a formal declaration that the bride and groom have informed their parents." Some newspapers claim "similar documents of parents on both sides will be required". Frankly, this is intolerable, indefensible and unconscionable. The state government believes, as this newspaper reported, that this is required "to protect women, prevent fraud and restore transparency . particularly in love marriages and elopements." How different things were when Nisha and I got married in 1982. She was Catholic. I was Hindu. She wanted a church wedding, and Father Terry Gilfedder was happy to arrange a full religious service with communion despite the fact that I wasn't a Catholic. He didn't ask for witnesses. He didn't care whether our parents had granted permission. He didn't require notarised declarations of our identity. Father Terry was more concerned about the love that had brought us together. "I love you are three words that symbolise today", he said in his sermon, after he'd declared us man and wife. "But remember, love not only joins the words I and you, it also separates them." His advice was simple. Remember you're two individuals, with your own tastes and preferences, and love will grow. Forget, and it could suffer. I wonder what Father Terry would make of the Gujarat government's proposed amendments? "Oh dear", is what I think he'd say. "Forgive them, dear Lord for they know not what they do." I trust our courts will be less accommodating. Isn't it strange that in the second quarter of the 21st century, with AI knocking on our doors and Viksit Bharat two decades away, our governments should be obsessed with determining whether an adult boy and girl can marry who they want without Mummy and Daddy's permission? But then, this is India....