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16 July 2015
- From the section India
A young couple have attempted to commit suicide in the grounds of the Taj Mahal, India’s famed monument to love.
Police say the pair – a Hindu and a Muslim – slit their own throats after their parents had refused to let them marry because of different religions.
They were found in a pool of blood, and are now said to be in a stable condition.
Marriage outside religion or caste still attracts censure, and even honour killings, in parts of India.
“The girl cut her throat first followed by the boy,” said deputy superintendent Aseem Chaudhary, the AFP news agency reports.
The Times of India quoted the young man as saying that the couple had tried to convince their parents to change their minds, but that “the boundaries of religion remained the biggest hurdle”.
“We did this after failing at all possible ways to be together,” he said.
The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal in the 17th Century.
It is the top tourist attraction in India.
