Bhopal:
Within the coronary heart of Madhya Pradesh, nestled amid the rugged terrains of Rajgarh district, lies Jaitpura – a village the place time appears to have stopped, leaving goals in shackles and childhoods stolen. Right here, innocence is traded, and the merciless weight of custom drags youngsters into maturity lengthy earlier than their time.
Our journey started the place the street ended, over slender, damaged paths that echoed the hardship of lives untouched by improvement.
In these forgotten corners of India, we discovered youngsters whose laughter has been silenced by customs like little one marriage and engagement, sure by the age-old observe of Jhagda-Natra.
This grim custom calls for exorbitant quantities from households looking for to interrupt free from pre-arranged marriages, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and despair.
The tales of Jaitpura are a mirrored image of a broader malaise plaguing 50 villages, the place over 700 youngsters have misplaced their proper to a carefree childhood.
Rama Bai, now 40, remembers how her childhood ended abruptly three many years in the past.
“I obtained married on the age of 10 years… On daily basis, ladies listed here are married off. This should cease,” she stated, her voice heavy with the load of her previous.
Geeta, simply 22, carries her younger daughter in her arms. Engaged at two, married at 16, she refuses to let historical past repeat itself. “I can’t interact my daughter. This should finish with me,” she asserts, her resolve a tiny ray of sunshine amid the darkness that lies heavy over the lives of the youngsters.
One guardian defined the cruel actuality: “Right here relationships are sometimes fastened even earlier than beginning. When a girl is six months pregnant, households decide-‘when you’ve got a boy and we’ve a lady, they are going to be engaged.’ They keep on with their phrase. As youngsters develop, more cash is required, and generally, in a drunken state, engagements are finalised. This occurred in our household too,” she stated, a tone of resignation in her voice.
Childhood Desires in Chains
These choices affect youngsters profoundly, robbing them of their innocence and goals. Some are as younger as one 12 months previous when they’re engaged, marked with bracelets or lockets to suggest the dedication.
Dinesh, a younger boy, shared a bittersweet second about his fiancee: “My fiancee is frim Gangapar. She was given a bracelet and a pendent in the course of the engagement.”
One other little one, Mangilal’s fiancée, stated: “I used to be only a 12 months previous after I obtained engaged. I do not bear in mind a lot, however I do know his identify is Mangilal. I did not obtain something in the course of the engagement.”
For a lot of, these symbols of dedication aren’t cherished however burdensome.
A boy, simply 10 years previous, was vocal about his discomfort. “I used to be given sweets after I obtained engaged, however I did not need to. I’ve decided-I will not marry. I am within the fifth commonplace, and I need to grow to be a health care provider,” he stated.
For the younger ladies, anklets and bangles aren’t adornments however symbols of oppression. The ache, each bodily and emotional, weighs closely on them.
“My toes harm loads due to the anklets. I inform my mother and father every single day, however they are saying I need to put on them. That is bondage. I would like freedom from these,” a lady stated.
For many, these ornaments characterize a lifelong burden.
A ten-year-old, married when she was far youthful, stated: “The bangles have been placed on me throughout my engagement and marriage. They’re stated to boost a lady’s magnificence, however to me, they’re shackles. Generally, when there’s hassle at my in-laws’ home, these bangles are eliminated and offered.”
Villagers justify the system as a compulsion – a option to escape debt, or marriage ceremony bills. However it’s the youngsters who pay the worth, their lives lowered to mere transactions.
Govardhan Tanwar, the deputy sarpanch, sounded matter of reality. “Engagements occur when mother and father are drunk. They take loans, marry off their daughters, and the cycle continues.”
In response to the Nationwide Household Well being Survey-5, 46 per cent of girls aged 20-24 in Rajgarh have been married earlier than they turned 18. Schooling stays a distant dream, with over half the ladies within the district illiterate.
Breaking these shackles comes at a price. Households should pay hefty fines to annul pre-arranged marriages, typically showing earlier than social panchayats.
The worth of freedom is crushing, leaving many resigned to their fates. In sure areas of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, if a lady dares to interrupt free from this bondage or refuses to undergo with a prearranged marriage, she and her household are summoned earlier than social councils. These councils impose fines, referred to as ‘jhagda’ (penalty), for canceling the wedding. In some circumstances, practices like nata or natara, involving widows or deserted girls returning to society, are additionally intertwined with these traditions.
Amid these statistics and age-old customs, this story isn’t just about Jaitpura village-it is a mirrored image of numerous tales of ache and wrestle. It’s the story of numerous villages the place custom chains childhood, and goals are offered.