PUNE, NOV 8: Her tale will move even the hardest soul. For no fault of hers, 22-year-old Nanda Amre finds herself on the threshold of death. In just two years, dreams of a happy married life have come crashing down. Treated as a pariah by society and her in-laws, a dying Nanda, however, refuses to give up without a fight. She has moved the court of law for ``justice and honour.''This is the story of a young bride from a village in Khanapur taluka in Sangli district, who is now counting her last days: she has been declared a full blown case of AIDS, courtesy her husband who allegedly infected her with the HIV despite being aware that he was a carrier of the virus.After clearing her SSC, Nanda had plans to study further. But fate had other thing in store for her. There was a surprise - one of the richest families in the village approached her family for her hand in marriage. Nanda's family was in tizzy as they had never expected a marriage proposal for their daughter from a family of gold merchants who had made name for themselves in the region.``Our son has seen your girl and and now he is adamant that he will marry only Nanda. We don't want anything from you, so please accept our proposal.'' This was what the groom's parents apparently said to her family. Seeing no reason to rejecting the proposal, her family consented and the marriage took place in June 1997.After the marriage Nanda's husband, Mahesh, went regularly to Tamil Nadu for business, sometimes staying away from home for months. But soon he started avoiding Nanda and preferred to live in Tamil Nadu.One day he was brought home in a serious condition and hospitalised in Miraj. Nanda was told by her in-laws that Mahesh was sick and would recover soon. But when his condition became critical, Mahesh was moved to Mumbai where after a series of tests doctors found Mahesh to be an AIDS patient in the last stages of life.Even as a shocked Nanda brooded on her fate, another catastrophe came her way. She was informed by doctors that she too had been infected by the HIV, the virus passed on by her husband.Mahesh died in hospital and Nanda was reportedly forced to keep mum on her husband's death. She was told that if she spoke out, both families would have to suffer as society would boycott them.A few months after her husband's death, Nanda's health deteriorated and she was thrown out of the house by her in-laws. When Nanda demanded her share of the property, she was rudely turned away. She was also told that if she went to the police or the court she and her family would have to face the consequences.Refusing to be cowed down, Nanda decided to take the matter to court. She filed a case in a Sangli court against her in-laws. ``I am not fighting this case for property. What will I do with money when I know that my life will end soon.'' says Nanda, tears rolling down her cheeks. `` I only want to punish the people who have played with my life,'' she says. Advocate Dattajirao Mane, who has taken up Nanda's case, says this case should enlighten people in the rural areas where poor people marry their daughters into rich families without investigating antecedents of the would-be grooms. ``You will find many such cases in rural parts of Sangli district,'' says Mane.Meanwhile, the Maratha MahaSangh in Sangli has appealed to the public that blood tests of both the boy and girl should be conducted before marriage.(The names of the victim and her husband have been changed to protect their identity)
