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Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Kanyadaan Yojna has proved to be very popular and has helped poor parents in getting their daughters married off without fear of dowry menace, writes Zafar Alam Khan
The mass marriage plan for the poor is one of the many ways to fight poverty and the age-old social menace of dowry system, say State Governments, but over the time, it has evolved into a mini enterprise.
Madhya Pradesh's marriage scheme called Chief Minister's Kanyadaan Yojna has become so popular that some say it is the secret of Shivraj Singh Chouhan's second innings at the helm of the State Government. The waiting list is long, and ceremonies are being held with increasing frequency this marriage season.
In April, at least 335 couples tied the knot in the district of Indore alone. On March 27, three dozen pairs wed in the village Chadravati Ganj with full police arrangement, not far from here. And on May 6, on the auspicious day of Akshaya Trithiya, some 280 couples wedded in the neighbouring district of Ujjain.
Some 34,000 girls were married off at a total cost of Rs 42 crore last year under the marriage scheme launched in 2006, Hiralal Trivedi, the State's Social Justice Commissioner, said.
While wealthy Indians go over the top with wedding celebrations, the marriage plan for the poor is one of the many ways to fight poverty. The Government insists it is a way to show that it cares about women, and by marrying them off with State blessing, they're also easing the choking debts of dowry imposed on parents. So the State Government is acting as parents of the bride. And it also offers gifts unofficially referred to as dowry to take back with her to her in-laws' home.
Women groups are, however, not impressed. Calling it a 'populist' move, they criticise the Government for reinforcing stereotypical notions of women a regressive step that subverts women's status as much as poses a hindrance to the country's social movement opposing child marriage, dowry and sati, they say. Instead of encouraging early marriage, the Government would do better by investing in girls' education, opening boarding schools and counseling centres to counter growing dowry-related violence, they add.
"Socially, it sounds good. It's exciting for a common man to get gifts. But it views women as a burden," says Sudeepa Das, a young activist in Bhopal with Sudhar, which provides legal aid to prison inmates.
Sumitra Mahajan, a Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament from Indore, admits dowry remains an issue. "Sometimes girls can't marry. So our Chief Minister said, 'Let us get them married to give them a new start in life,'" she says.
Under India's marriage law, a girl can marry at 18, but this minimum age requirement is rarely enforced. A 2006-07 International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) study that interviewed 51,000 youth across six States showed that 49% of the girls married before 18.
"In India, we know how the law works. A bride can overnight become 18 for marrying her off," says professor at IPC' public health and mortality studies Pankaj Jha, adding "the question is do we need mechanical solutions or should we solve the problem from the point of view of human rights?"
In Madhya Pradesh, rumours abound of underage girls getting married under the
Kanyadaan scheme. With the attraction of gifts, cases of mothers remarrying, too, is heard. And in the eastern district of Shahdol, opposition parties kicked up a storm when "abdomen tests" were rumoured to have been conducted on a few women to verify allegations of remarriage. Then, last year, the State curiously launched yet another programme called Prerna Yojna. Targeted more at population control, the Prerna Yojna rewards couples for marrying at the "right age", boys at 20 and girls, 18 and for spacing births.
Mass weddings aren't new in India, having gained momentum as religious organisations and communities stepped in to hold these functions privately. Today, several States, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, have set aside welfare funds for organising marriages according to castes, communities and religion. With time, they've evolved into mini enterprises, as organisers get commissions from Governments for holding them as corporate houses begin financing them and rival political parties settle scores over each other by drawing maximum number of willing couples to their pandals (tents).
The Government of Madhya Pradesh has set aside a modest limit of `9,100 as wedding expense per girl, buying her a sari, anklets, a single bed, mattress and a pressure cooker. This rule is sometimes broken, if the Chief Minister himself attends the function. The booty is then expanded to include a gold mangalsutra, a steel almirah, a gas stove, said a Government official. For effect, Chouhan likes to be referred as a mama (uncle) of the brides on these occasions.
The wedding, which had an air of festive revelry, gets over as quickly as it began. As
Bollywood music plays, the feast begins and relatives help to cart the gifts in waiting trucks.
In Jindakhera village, Atmaram Charotia takes a more practical view on community marriages. A father of seven daughters and a son, the landless wageworker says he married off three of his girls this way. On May 6, his fourth daughter, Maya, and son, Deepak got married along with 280 couples in Ujjain. "It's about saving money, not about giving and getting," he says.
The mass marriage plan for the poor is one of the many ways to fight poverty and the age-old social menace of dowry system, say State Governments, but over the time, it has evolved into a mini enterprise.
Madhya Pradesh's marriage scheme called Chief Minister's Kanyadaan Yojna has become so popular that some say it is the secret of Shivraj Singh Chouhan's second innings at the helm of the State Government. The waiting list is long, and ceremonies are being held with increasing frequency this marriage season.
In April, at least 335 couples tied the knot in the district of Indore alone. On March 27, three dozen pairs wed in the village Chadravati Ganj with full police arrangement, not far from here. And on May 6, on the auspicious day of Akshaya Trithiya, some 280 couples wedded in the neighbouring district of Ujjain.
Some 34,000 girls were married off at a total cost of Rs 42 crore last year under the marriage scheme launched in 2006, Hiralal Trivedi, the State's Social Justice Commissioner, said.
While wealthy Indians go over the top with wedding celebrations, the marriage plan for the poor is one of the many ways to fight poverty. The Government insists it is a way to show that it cares about women, and by marrying them off with State blessing, they're also easing the choking debts of dowry imposed on parents. So the State Government is acting as parents of the bride. And it also offers gifts unofficially referred to as dowry to take back with her to her in-laws' home.
Women groups are, however, not impressed. Calling it a 'populist' move, they criticise the Government for reinforcing stereotypical notions of women a regressive step that subverts women's status as much as poses a hindrance to the country's social movement opposing child marriage, dowry and sati, they say. Instead of encouraging early marriage, the Government would do better by investing in girls' education, opening boarding schools and counseling centres to counter growing dowry-related violence, they add.
"Socially, it sounds good. It's exciting for a common man to get gifts. But it views women as a burden," says Sudeepa Das, a young activist in Bhopal with Sudhar, which provides legal aid to prison inmates.
Sumitra Mahajan, a Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament from Indore, admits dowry remains an issue. "Sometimes girls can't marry. So our Chief Minister said, 'Let us get them married to give them a new start in life,'" she says.
Under India's marriage law, a girl can marry at 18, but this minimum age requirement is rarely enforced. A 2006-07 International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) study that interviewed 51,000 youth across six States showed that 49% of the girls married before 18.
"In India, we know how the law works. A bride can overnight become 18 for marrying her off," says professor at IPC' public health and mortality studies Pankaj Jha, adding "the question is do we need mechanical solutions or should we solve the problem from the point of view of human rights?"
In Madhya Pradesh, rumours abound of underage girls getting married under the
Kanyadaan scheme. With the attraction of gifts, cases of mothers remarrying, too, is heard. And in the eastern district of Shahdol, opposition parties kicked up a storm when "abdomen tests" were rumoured to have been conducted on a few women to verify allegations of remarriage. Then, last year, the State curiously launched yet another programme called Prerna Yojna. Targeted more at population control, the Prerna Yojna rewards couples for marrying at the "right age", boys at 20 and girls, 18 and for spacing births.
Mass weddings aren't new in India, having gained momentum as religious organisations and communities stepped in to hold these functions privately. Today, several States, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, have set aside welfare funds for organising marriages according to castes, communities and religion. With time, they've evolved into mini enterprises, as organisers get commissions from Governments for holding them as corporate houses begin financing them and rival political parties settle scores over each other by drawing maximum number of willing couples to their pandals (tents).
The Government of Madhya Pradesh has set aside a modest limit of `9,100 as wedding expense per girl, buying her a sari, anklets, a single bed, mattress and a pressure cooker. This rule is sometimes broken, if the Chief Minister himself attends the function. The booty is then expanded to include a gold mangalsutra, a steel almirah, a gas stove, said a Government official. For effect, Chouhan likes to be referred as a mama (uncle) of the brides on these occasions.
The wedding, which had an air of festive revelry, gets over as quickly as it began. As
Bollywood music plays, the feast begins and relatives help to cart the gifts in waiting trucks.
In Jindakhera village, Atmaram Charotia takes a more practical view on community marriages. A father of seven daughters and a son, the landless wageworker says he married off three of his girls this way. On May 6, his fourth daughter, Maya, and son, Deepak got married along with 280 couples in Ujjain. "It's about saving money, not about giving and getting," he says.
