Amitabh Shukla | Jind
When contesting candidates go to
their constituencies seeking votes, they
expect demands of employment, opening of industries, water for irrigation,
24-hour electricity, health and educational facilities. But the extremely
skewed gender ratio in this part of Haryana has changed dynamics of electoral
demand with bachelors saying that their votes would go to the candidates or
parties whoever promises to arrange brides for them.
An organisation called Kunwara
Union (Bachelors’ Union ) has sprung up in Jind. Its sole
purpose is to ensure support for their cause. Their cause is simple —
contesting candidates and parties should help them get married and settle in
life of domestic bliss. “The candidates do not know how to respond to them or
promise them as this is practically impossible,” said an office-bearer of
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). In the run-up to the polls, BJP Kisan Morcha
chief OP Dhankar had given a controversial statement on the issue and since
then politicians are maintaining a studied silence.
People no longer laugh at the
demand of the Kunwara Union as the list of males above 40-years, who are yet to
get brides, is growing longer. All of them have only one demand — wedding bells
for them. Interestingly, most of them have turned champions of fight against
female foeticide.
“We may not have exact figures of
the unmarried males in their 30s and 40s but I am sure every village in Jind
district has a house where there are unmarried males in this age group. This
has disturbed the entire social balance. We are suffering and are forced to
remain bachelors but our campaign against female foeticide would ensure that
the next generation does not suffer,” said Ompal Singh, an office-bearer of the
Kunwara Union. Ranvir, one of his associates in the organisation, says that
several bachelors in the area have been duped by the so-called “Marriage
Bureaus” who promise brides in arranged marriages but flee with the money after
registration.
As campaigning came to an end for
the Haryana Assembly polls, the skewed sex ratio in Jind and the surrounding
areas has become a poll issue. There are 843 females to 1000 males in the
district as per the 2011 census; one of the lowest and that explains why
organisations like Kunwara Union have become important for the parties.
Hari Chand Middha, the sitting
MLA of the INLD, said poor sex ratio was God’s wish. He avoids the issue in his
meetings fearing electoral reverses but many in his entourage agree that the
issue indeed is important. Supporters of the INLD said the party in its
manifesto has promised to solve the acute problem of female foeticide.
Not surprisingly, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, who addressed a rally here two days ago, blamed female foeticide
as the main reason for the skewed sex ratio in the State. He said that the nine
worst affected districts of the country were in Haryana, stressing on the need
for safety for women. “In Haryana, for every 1,000 males born there are only
875 girl child births. This is not god given that this is happening because we
are committing a crime of killing the girl child before its birth,” Modi said
while adding that development is the only solution to this problem.
Modi’s recognition of the issue
has gone down well with the Kunwara Union. “You cannot turn a blind eye to the
issue…Out vote is with the BJP,” said Pardeep Singh of the Union ,
who has been highlighting the issue at various forums. Surinder Singh Barwala,
the BJP candidate from Jind, too talked of development to end female foeticide
and the end of the woes of the bachelors of the next generation. His slogan is
development, which he says, will solve the issue of skewed sex ratio. Several
Khaps too are gradually speaking against female foeticide and have been
proactive with the cause of the Kunwara Union. Though cosmetically, some of
them are demanding brides for votes, they know the solution is long term and
lies in improving the sex ratio. (October
14, 2014 )
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