Daijiworld Media Network - Lucknow

Lucknow, Oct 22: Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Thursday urged young people to honour their commitments in relationships and become financially independent before marriage, stressing the importance of understanding family responsibilities.

Addressing the seventh convocation ceremony of a private college in Lucknow, Patel expressed concern over incidents in which young girls become mothers at an early age and are subsequently abandoned by their partners.

“It is not right to make a girl a mother at the age of 13-14 and then leave her alone,” she said, emphasising the need for greater social responsibility and awareness among young people.

“There is nothing wrong with having a girlfriend, but if you have promised to marry her, you must fulfil that promise,” Patel said, urging young people to think carefully before making commitments about their future.

She said marriage involved responsibilities towards the family and advised young people to become self-reliant and financially stable before starting a family. While governments had taken steps to address such concerns, society also needed to play its part, she added.

Patel's remarks come amid earlier statements in which she emphasised traditional family values and domestic responsibilities, particularly for women. Addressing the 41st convocation of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University in Kanpur in July 2026, she had said women should become “expert mothers”, whether they aspired to be IAS officers or teachers.

She had also stressed the importance of knowing how to cook and manage household responsibilities while pursuing education and careers, while encouraging women not to discontinue their education after marriage and to use their knowledge for the betterment of society and the nation.

Her earlier remarks drew criticism from opposition leaders, student activists and commentators, who argued that such expectations reinforced traditional gender roles and overlooked women's professional aspirations. Supporters, however, backed her emphasis on family values and parental responsibilities.

At Thursday's event, Patel also recalled an initiative she introduced during her tenure as a minister and chief minister in Gujarat. She said interactions with people had prompted her to redirect money spent during such engagements towards social welfare.

The initiative led to the distribution of gram and jaggery to children from economically disadvantaged families at anganwadi centres. Anganwadi workers would boil and season the gram before serving it to the children, she said.