Demand for dowry in cash puts Pawara boys in a quandary

KARJANE (JALGAON): Satish Barela is busy convincing his wife and her family over a year after his marriage that the government's demonetisation decision has restricted his financial activities and he cannot pay the second instalment of dowry immediately.
While Satish is struggling to fulfil his promise, other weddings are being postponed or put on hold because girls are not ready to tie the knot without dowry in cash.
Pawara Adivasis in Chopda taluka of Jalgaon, about 400km from Pune, follow the dowry system. Boys have to pay dowry to the bride and her family here.
“My wife and her family are empathetic and that's why they agreed for dowry in instalments. This is not the case with other girls and their families in our community .They want full dowry in one instalment and boys are finding it difficult to get married this season because of demonetisation,“ says Satish as his wife holds a baby in her arms and stares at him through her ghungat.
The Pawara community in these parts of Jalgaon district has fixed the dowry amount at Rs 36,000 for boys. Also, boy's family has to shoulder the responsibility of marriage, buy dress for girl's parents and pay for the post-marriage rituals.
Savita, a young girl working in a field with her parents and brother, feels that dowry gives girls financial assurance and stability . Ask her if she would marry without dowry and she refuses to answer.
Her mother, Ushabai, comes to her rescue. “Girls are not educated here because there are no schools. They have to depend on their husbands all their life. Dowry gives them financial assurance and stability ,“ she says.
Ushabai is aware of demonetisation and cash crisis but insists that the community is very strict about this ritual and it is compulsory to pay dowry to girls.
“It is not that all girls are refusing to marry . There were some marriages where cost-cutting was done. But there was no compromise on dowry . Boys have to pay it today or later. There is no escape because this is a tradition we have followed for centuries,“ she says.
Sunil Barela doesn't agree with his mother and sister. He has appeared for the state government's exam conducted for the post of talathi and is preparing for competitive exams.
“Poor or rich, educated or uneducated, all boys have to pay dowry . Winter is the marriage season in our community and boys are really in problem. From where they would get cash when banks are not allowing withdrawals?“ he asks.
The government has already announced norms for withdrawing big amount for wedding ceremonies. But this has not helped Pawara boys because majority of them work in their own fields and a few work as labourers.They don't have big deposits in banks. They deal in cash and on credit while selling their grain to traders. Demonetisation has stopped the movement in market and those who had planned to sell out their stocked produce just before the marriage season are hit by the demonetisation decision. “We don't know what will happen to many planned marriages because the currency crisis is still prevailing here. Girls and their parents must try to understand,“ says Satish.
For Savita, demonetisation is a problem between the government and boys and they must sort it out before stepping into the marriage mandap. She and other girls feel that dowry is their right and boys and their families must make provision of money before they come with a marriage proposal. Lalit Bonde, an agricultural expert who has worked in this village for years, says the dowry system here has a positive side. “Female infanticide prevails in other parts of the state. In Pawara and other Adivasi communities, the number of girls is healthy because families don't consider girls as a burden. They welcome and celebrate the birth of a girl child,“ he says, adding that the pressure is on families with boys and parents keep nagging them to earn and save money so that they are at least able to pay dowry and get married.
According to the 2011 Census, India's ST population as a whole has a sex ratio of 990, much better than the national ratio of 943. The child sex ratio up to 6 years of age was also significantly better of tribals at 957 than of the country as a whole (919).
Baribai Barki is not very happy about the tradition, though. “The amount a girl gets does not suffice all life.Girls have to depend on their men. I think education is mo re important than dowry . If a girl is educated, she will have sustained source of income,“ she says, adding that women here are struggling to find daily wage work after demonetisation.
As an effort to earn economic independence, Baribai and others had started a small savings group with the help of an NGO. They produced organic fertilizer, but failed to get market because the NGO left after the project period concluded.
Munnibai Barela says girls must use the dowry amount for their education.“There must be some sustained source of income. Once you are financially independent, you don't have to depend on anyone. You can live with dignity ,“ she says, adding that elsewhere in India women are fighting for their rights and so are girls in this village.
“Nothing wrong in it (dowry). Girls must get dowry because they work harder than men all the life,“Barela says.