The days when the groom and the groom's family had an upper hand in marriage, with the bride's side obsequiously fawning all over them, seem to be waning. While instances of highhandedness by the groom's side for dowry or some other preposterous reason are still to be found aplenty, many brides are no longer willing to take things lying down. In fact, increasingly, they are taking matters in their own hands. Brides across India, even in rural areas, seem to be done with being pushovers and are standing up to injustice.
News reports in the past couple months suggest that brides are turning down grooms and cancelling weddings over dowry demands, drunkenness or plain boorish behaviour.
Not just the brides, their families too are also refusing to be harassed and taken for-granted.
Bride In Punjab Refuses To Marry Groom Because He Came To His Own Wedding Intoxicated
Punjab, as we know, has a serious drug-addiction problem among its youth. So, when the groom came to the gurdwara in an intoxicated state, 22-year-old Sunita Singh put her foot down, saying that she was not going to marry a drug addict.
The Hindustan Times quoted her relative as saying, "She was adamant that she will not marry Jaspreet as she suspected that he was a drug addict."
She also demanded that the groom undergo a drug test and he tested positive. Sunita then reported the matter to the police.
In Bihar, Bride Walks Out Of Wedding Because Groom Was Drunk
Another news report claimed that farmer Bittu Pandey was left high and dry at his wedding mandap on Saturday because he had shown up drunk.
The Hindustan Times report says that his young bride refused to go through the final few rituals at the wedding because he was drunk.
The report quoted her family members as saying that the bride said, "He is wedded to liquor, I will not marry him."
Well, you go girl. No one has to marry a drunkard.
Bride Marries Someone Else After Fussy Groom Refuses To Marry Her Over Vegetarian Food Served At The Wedding
When a groom and the groom's party were upset over meat not being served at the wedding last month in Muzaffarnagar, to show their displeasure they said that the wedding would not take place.
But little did they know that the bride and her family wouldn't fall at their feet, begging them to marry the poor girl.
With the ceremony on the verge of being called off, an intrepid guest proposed marriage to the bride-in-waiting who consented readily. Apparently, the new groom had no objections to the vegetarian spread. The couple were even blessed by the village panchayat.
Jharkhand Groom Demanded Bike As Dowry, Bride Called Off Wedding
You think you can pressurise the bride and her family into giving in to your whimsical demands? Well, be forewarned. A groom and his brother had their heads shaved when he demanded a second Pulsar motorcycle in dowry, despite having already received one.
His bride swiftly dumped him and the duo were let off only after they promised to reimburse the wedding expenses to the bride's family.
Bride Dumps Groom Because He Was Dark Skinned
In Bihar, bride Kumkum Kumari, in her early 20s, surprised all when she refused to marry the groom Indal Kumar because she found him too dark.
Admittedly, the given reason why she dumped the groom smacks of regressive attitudes. But it is refreshing nonetheless that young women, even in rural areas, are refusing to be yoked to anyone and everyone, and are beginning to think for themselves.
As the report points out, it is rare for a bride to refuse to marry the man chosen for her by her parents, and this must have made Kumkum's decision very hard.
"Times seem to have changed for women as several schemes have been launched for their empowerment by the state and central governments," an elderly villager, who was to attend the marriage ceremony, told IANS.