Mumbai: 500 Tribal Couples Enter Wedded Life at Mass Marriage Ceremony

News and pics: Rons Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai (SP)

Mumbai, Jun 8: About 500 tribal couples, many of whom are already in a live-in relationships, tied the nuptial knots at a mass marriage ceremony organized on Sunday June 6 at Boisar (Thane) near here. The programme was organized under Suryoday Kanyadan Yojana, a project of Shri Sadguru Datta Dharmik Evem Parmarthik Trust, in association with Vidhayak Sansad, Shramajeevi Sanghatan and the department of tribal development, government of Maharashtra.

The ceremony, held at Khairipada Ground near Boisar station, was attended by Sri Bhaiyyuji Maharaj from Indore, Punit Balan, Maharashtra unit president of the said trust, Sharad Pawar, president of the trust, union tribal development department minister, Kantilalji Bhuriya and state minister for tribal development, Babanraoji Pachpute, cricketer, Irfan Pathan, MLA and founder of Shramajeevi Sanghatan, Vivek Pandit, and several other dignitaries.

Voluntary organizations and government departments had extended full support to this voluntary initiative. Delivering the benedictory address on this occasion in the evening, Sri Bhaiyyuji Maharaj, a member of the organizing committee, said that the organizers had observed that several tribal couples lived here without solemnizing their live-in relationships. “There are cases in which three generations, right from the grandparents of these couples, have not got married. Last year, we could conduct marriage of 470 couples. I am happy that this figure has crossed 500 now,” he said.

Irfan Pathan, Indian cricketer, congratulated the couples and wished them a happy future.  “I feel honoured to be a part of this ceremony. I appreciate the efforts put in by the organizers to change the lifestyles of the tribal people for their betterment.  They were not marrying, as they were unable to meet marriage expenses,” he observed.

The people, who got married at the ceremony, belonged to several tribes like Adim Jamat Matkari, Katkari, Warli, Malhar Koli and Kokna. Almost all of them live below poverty line, and live in inhuman conditions. Nearly all of them are illiterates, and only recently, their children have started going to school. The tribal department had agreed to pay Rs 13,000 to each of the couple, which got married at the ceremony.

The Herculean efforts put in Punit Balan, Maharashtra unit president of the trust, made the ceremony possible. The trust is being run under the guidance of Sri Bhaiyuji Maharaj, and has so far conducted 8,532 marriages in Maharshtra and Madhya Pradesh, Balan revealed.