JAISALMER/JAIPUR: Family ties that date back to well before the subcontinent was partitioned in 1947 still appear stronger than the new political boundaries that separate them. This will be proved on Friday when scions of two prominent Rajput families from India and Pakistan tie the knot in Jaipur.The rare cross-border matrimonial alliance has attracted much media attention even as ties between the two countries have suddenly started looking up. The Sodha Rajput family of groom Karni Singh boasts of an impressive legacy. Had it not been for his family, Akbar would have perhaps never become the architect of one of the greatest empires in the world.

The family had given refuge to Akbar’s father, Humayun, and his pregnant wife in Amarkot (now Umerkot in Pakistan’s Sindh province) as he fled to the desert region after being defeated by Sher Shah Suri in 1540.

The family stayed back in Pakistan after 1947 and its members are today one of the leading political families in the country with considerable influence in the Hindu-dominated Tharparkar region adjoining Rajasthan.

The bride, Padmini Singh Rathore, is a member of Kanota royal family and a descendant of erstwhile Jaipur state force commander General Amar Singh. Padmini said she was initially skeptical about marrying a Pakistani. “It is an arranged marriage and a girl takes time to acquaint herself with her in-laws and husband,” she said, adding, “I will settle with my husband at Umerkot in Pakistan after I get the visa.”

The Sodha family has long been in matrimonial alliances in Rajasthan as they are the only major Hindu Rajput clan in Pakistan. Rajputs are forbidden from marrying within their clans while majority of Hindus in Pakistan belong to lower castes.

Karni’s father, Hamir Singh, who is a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) politician and is married to an Indian as well, said the wedding wasn’t unusual. “We have marital ties with Rajput families from Rajasthan. There can be now better way to bridge the gulf between the two countries,” said Hamir Singh. Several relatives of Padmini are married into the Sodha family. Karni’s grandfather, Rana Chandra Singh (1931-2009), was a founding member of the PPP and a federal minister.

Hamir, who now heads the Sodha family that owns the famous Umerkot Fort where Akbar was born, called harassment of Hindus in Pakistan overhyped. “We’ve fought for minority rights and governments in Pakistan have shown the desired sensitivity,” he told TOI.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Tying-the-knot-couple-to-show-borders-are-a-naught/articleshow/46305689.cms