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 growth.
In these forgotten corners of India, we discovered youngsters whose laughter has been silenced by customs like youngster marriage and engagement, certain by the age-old apply 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 a long time in the past.
“I obtained married on the age of 10 years… Day by day, women 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 cannot 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 kids.
One guardian defined the tough actuality: “Right here relationships are sometimes fastened even earlier than beginning. When a girl is six months pregnant, households decide-‘in case you have a boy and we’ve a lady, they are going to be engaged.’ They persist 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 Goals in Chains
These choices influence youngsters profoundly, robbing them of their innocence and goals. Some are as younger as one yr outdated when they’re engaged, marked with bracelets or lockets to suggest the dedication.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 throughout the engagement.”
One other youngster, Mangilal’s fiancée, stated: “I used to be only a yr outdated once I obtained engaged. I do not keep in mind a lot, however I do know his identify is Mangilal. I did not obtain something throughout the engagement.”
For a lot of, these symbols of dedication should not cherished however burdensome.
A boy, simply 10 years outdated, was vocal about his discomfort. “I used to be given sweets once I obtained engaged, however I did not wish to. I’ve decided-I will not marry. I am within the fifth commonplace, and I wish to develop into a health care provider,” he stated.
For the younger women, anklets and bangles should not adornments however symbols of oppression. The ache, each bodily and emotional, weighs closely on them.
“My ft harm lots due to the anklets. I inform my mother and father day-after-day, however they are saying I have to put on them. That is bondage. I would like freedom from these,” a lady stated.
For many, these ornaments signify 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. Typically, when there may be bother at my in-laws’ home, these bangles are eliminated and bought.”
Villagers justify the system as a compulsion – a approach 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 accordance with the Nationwide Household Well being Survey-5, 46 per cent of ladies aged 20-24 in Rajgarh have been married earlier than they turned 18. Training 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 value 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, often called ‘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 is not only about Jaitpura village-it is a mirrored image of numerous tales of ache and battle. It’s the story of numerous villages the place custom chains childhood, and goals are bought.