A village in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh has issued an order for social boycott of the family for love marriage. Under this, socio-economic transactions with them will be stopped. The administration has called this decision illegal.
Ratlam: Marriage should be a matter of boy and girl. In western countries, if the boy and the girl agree then the marriage is finalized, but this is not the case in India. Here marriage is not just a relationship between two people but is considered a union of two families. In the lives of boys and girls, their parents and relatives interfere more than them. In most of the marriages, the consent of both the boys and girls is not even asked, only both the families should like it. But a village is ready to punish the family of a boy or girl who goes against all this and marries as per their choice, and this matter has now become a matter of great debate.
Yes, in a village in Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh, the villagers have decided to socially boycott the couple who got married of their choice along with their entire family. Here, if any boy or girl marries as per their choice or does a love marriage, then the elders of the village named Panchewa in Ratlam district have decided to socially boycott the family of such boy and girl. After a video of the village being sentenced to social boycott surfaced on social media, there is widespread anger over this decision of the village. In the viral video, all the villagers are holding a big meeting together. After this, a young man announces this in front of everyone, calling this matter a ‘village decree’.
Boy and girl got married, family got punished
According to this announcement, any boy or girl who runs away from home and marries of their own choice will not only be punished, but their entire family will be ostracized. Due to this decision, if any young man or woman marries of their own free will, their entire family will have to face social boycott. Such families will not be invited to any social event, and they will also not be given daily essentials like rice, groceries, milk. They will also find it difficult to hire laborers for their daily work or no one will go to work for them. All economic and social transactions with them will be stopped in the village.
This boycott does not end here. No villager will rent land from these families. No one will work in their homes. Anyone who dares to employ outcast family members will face similar punishment. Those villagers who help the couple marry of their choice, become witnesses at their wedding or provide shelter to them will also be socially boycotted.
Stir in administration after video went viral
In this video, the heads of three families are identified and told that this scheme should be implemented effectively and if they support the ostracized family, they will also be ostracized. As soon as this video went viral, the local administration also reached the village. The district CEO and Patwari visited the village and tried to minimize the damage by explaining that social boycott was illegal and unconstitutional. SDOP Sandeep Malviya has said that after receiving a formal complaint in this regard, action will be taken as per law.
The law clearly says that an 18 year old woman and a 21 year old man have the legal right to marry as per their wish. The Supreme Court has also clearly declared decisions like social boycott and Panchayat as illegal. The Supreme Court has also said that it is the responsibility of the government to provide protection to adults who enter into inter-caste or love marriages.