SHE is a young woman in her twenties who lives in Shirdi, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. She is conventionally beautiful, tall, well-built and can be suitable for the role of heroine in any Marathi film. Being the eldest daughter of the family she is aware of responsibilities and wants to join the police force (constable). She is aware of the standard of the physical fitness required to get through the test. So she trains herself ruthlessly and works hard to get in to the police force.
As every girl in her twenties in India faces the parental pressure to get married, she also has been pressured and her marriage has been fixed to a man who would be climbing on to the back of the horse for the second time. I do not know the reasons of why but she succumbed to the parental pressure and agreed to the marriage.
Her father took loan to finance marriage which took place on 22 May 2016. After the marriage ceremony all the members of the caste panchayat or caste-specific juries (elders) gathered. They examined the bride and bridegroom carefully and gave them a white cloth (supposed to be use as bed sheet). Newly married couple were locked in a adjacent room and all the guests and elders waited for them to come out.
After some time couple came out of the room and caste panchayat “jury” began their trial. On being asked by elders, bridegroom literally described their whole act which took place behind the closed doors. Upon hearing that description bride’s father hung his head in shame. Finally elders asked the shocking question – “माल खरा आहे कि खोटा ?“ (Is the product pure or impure?). Bridegroom gave that white cloth to elders. They examined the cloth carefully and did not find any blood stains on it. They looked at the bridegroom and he angrily answered – “माल खोटा, खोटा, खोटा … “ (product is impure, impure, impure …)
Upon hearing those words a deathly silence enveloped the surrounding for a moment. Elders pronounced their judgement and terminated the marriage. Bride screamed and cried helplessly. She tried to convince elders and told them that it is because of physical training (that she could not keep her hymen intact). Her father helplessly folded his hands and requested them to consider their decision but to no avail and adamant elders did not move an inch.
Bridegroom’s people collected all the gifts they received and snatched way the bride’s jewellery. They did not even spare the mangalsutra (sacred necklace) and hastily went way from the scene.
A few days ago their house was buzzing with activity but now everyone is crying and that ceremonial euphoria has been brought to grievous halt. Bride’s father does not want to file a police complaint because he believes police complaint might put his other daughter’s marriages at stake. So he does not want to take chances. He did not disassemble the mandap because after all this humiliation, he still hopelessly believes something miraculous will happen and everything will be alright.
But bride and her mother decide not to take any more and reach police station. Her father got to know about their act and he censures them severely, takes away their mobile phones and locks them in the room. He believes this is a private matter and should not be made public and should be sorted out within boundaries of caste.
Does this make us sad? Wait …
To give her a second chance, the caste panchayat ruled that to prove the validity of her marriage, the victim would have to undergo another test. She would be given a metre of cloth, to be tied either to the upper or lower portion of her body. She was told she would have to run naked with this cloth with the male members of the caste tribunal chasing her, throwing balls of hot flour on her body. (THE HINDU)
This kind of medieval mindset not only makes me sad but angry … extremely angry.
This seems like a typical plot of some fictional bollywood film, hence the following –
Man deserts wife after she ‘fails’ caste panchayat’s virginity test
Nashik: After ‘ending’ marriage to wife who was ‘not virgin’, man says won’t leave her
Yes this happens in twenty-first century Incredible India !
Vishal Bhagat Says 