In one of the rare cases, a father and his son got married at the same mandap in a mass wedding organised for tribal couples, who were living with their partners without tying the knot on Monday.
Ramlal Munda and Sahodari Munda of Ghaghra block in Gumla district, who have been in a live in relationship for over 30 years and their son Jeeteshwar Munda and his two years live-in partner Aruna Munda who have a daughter, got married at the programme.
A total of 132 tribal couples who have been staying in a live in relationship for years in Jharkhand, were officially married off at the grand programme organized by NIMMITA, a social organization.
Jeeteshwar Munda said on the occasion, “My parents were never married because of financial issues and I faced the same problem. I am really glad that after many years my parents are finally getting the respect of a married couple they have always been.
Also, I am thankful for the organization to provide both this platform for both me and my parents to get married officially.”
Nikita Sinha of the organization said that there are thousands of tribal couples, who are forced to stay in a live in relationship because they cannot afford getting married and throwing a feast for the entire village.
“We have tried to identify some such couple and get them married so as to provide a respect in the society for both the woman as well as the children born out of that marriage,” she said.
The women staying in a live-in relationship with their partners are referred to as Dhukni or Dhukua in the tribal community, which in local terms mean, someone who has entered the house.
“Such a term is derogatory and the woman or the children do not get the status they deserve in the society or any share in the property of the man.
By arranging such mass weddings we are trying to provide them a social status by registering their marriages,” Sinha said.
This is the third consecutive year that NIMITTA has organised mass weddings for such tribal couples. In 2017, 21 couples were married, followed by 43 in 2018. This year, out of the 132 couples from Khunti and Gumla districts, 76 are Sarna, 36 Hindus and 20 Christian couples.