Indian couple trolled 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.

Photos and videos of their colorful wedding show the happy couple from the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh performing the ceremony and posing in gorgeous outfits.

But as they shared their happiest moments on social media, congratulatory messages were littered with “jokes and memes” in which comparisons and criticism were made about the groom’s skin color.

In India, the obsession with fair complexion is well-documented and may even sometimes tragic consequencesthe groom was intensely shamed online and verbally abused for his “darker skin”.

Trolls didn’t spare the bride either, with many believing she married him “for his money”.

“She must have some kind of OCD,” one person wrote. Another netizen said she would not be happy with such a husband. Some called her a “money worshiper” and claimed she married him for wealth or a secure government job and benefits. One comment suggested Mr Rajput’s father must have been “a government minister”.

The couple married on November 23 and have since gone viral for their pranks and their head-on responses to criticism. They were approached by local media and interviewed dozens of times over the past two weeks.

“People are joking and making memes and it feels very wrong,” Rajput told BBC Hindi from his home in Jabalpur.

“This is our moment, we’ve been waiting for many years. It should have been a happy moment, but I was really shocked when I saw people’s reactions,” he said.

“In all the years we’ve been together, no one ever told us we weren’t a match because I was dark-skinned and she was lighter-skinned,” he added.

The vicious comments shocked the couple, who both work in private companies.

Ms Choksi admitted such comments “annoyed” her. “Do you think – this is what people think of us? It annoys me when they say bad things about him or call me a money digger.”

In a post on Instagram, Rajput addressed the trolls: “Sorry to disappoint you. I am not a government employee but I work hard for my family to give them a good, dignified life.”

He added that Sonali fell in love with him when he had nothing. “She has been with me through every good and bad moment from college to this day. People’s negative opinions mean nothing to me,” he wrote.

Mr. Rajput also addressed the issue of colorism in his comments, saying he had faced colorism throughout his life.

“I’m well aware that I’m dark-skinned. But in my wife’s eyes, I’m trying to be the best husband I can be, and that’s all that matters. There’s no need to talk about my family wrongly.”

Rajput said he fought back when trolls started commenting on one of the photos, which also featured his mother and his and his wife’s sisters.

“I don’t like them targeting my family. I want to tell them, you are a nobody. You have no right to target or attack anyone’s family,” he said.

The couple, who met in a 2014 college zoology class, said outsiders should not judge their lives.

“Our relationship started a year later and we knew from then on that one day we would get married. Those who commented on our relationship by watching the 30-second video did not know that it documented the 11 years of hard work we put into it,” Mr Rajput said.

“Sonali has always made it clear that when we get married, our entire village should witness it. But today, it seems the whole world is watching,” he said.

The couple agreed that the attention felt good in a way. But Ms Choksi added the comments were hurting the family. “For people, it might just be something they see on social media, but this is our life. It could destroy someone’s family.”

The couple also addressed colorism in several interviews.

“We live in India and people from different regions have different skin colours. Fair skin does not necessarily mean a good person. So, how do we judge a person based on his skin colour?” asked Ms Choksi.

Mr. Rajput said, “About 70-80% of people in India have darker skin, but the Indian mentality is that the whiter, the better. It is time to change this mentality.”

For those who say the couple isn’t a good match, he has a question: “When you look at us, do we look a little bit upset at you? We don’t. Because we have something that most people don’t have. I have her and she has me.”