The phenomenon is an ancient local tradition, due to the high cost of the female dowry. Men are forced to marry under the threat of arms. If they refuse, they will not find any other family willing to give their daughter in marriage.
Patna (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Thousands of young male bachelors are kidnapped each year in Bihar and forced to marry against their will. The phenomenon is known locally with the name "pakadwa shadi", or "groom kidnapping". This is an ancient tradition widespread in the State and due to the high cost of dowries.
With this practice, the bride's family manages to avoid paying the dowry, an institution that is illegal in India but still widespread in rural areas. Usually the girl's relatives agree with a gang of criminals, who kidnap the "suitable bachelor", usually of a good family, and force him to contract marriage under the threat of arms.
The phenomenon returned to the headlines at the beginning of January, when Vinod Kumar, a 29-year-old engineer from Jharkhand, was kidnapped in the Patna district by Surendra Yadav, a young local, and forced to marry his sister. In a video of the wedding scene, we see Vinod imploring the clemency of the girl's family, who refuses and threatens him with death.
Parveen Kumar, 29, told the BBC he was kidnapped in 2012 and forced to marry a woman named Maharani. The man reports that at the beginning he was very angry, but in the end he accepted his destiny. "There are few alternatives for a kidnapped groom - he says - If I had refused to accept marriage, no other family would have consented to my marriage with their daughter. " Today the couple has two children, but Parveen took three years to accept his wife, also forced by the family. Maharani reports resignedly: "My friends told me to forget what happened and be happy. These things happen in life ".
(Video credit: NDTV)