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The Hindu
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Polyandry part of ancient tribal tradition, says Himachal Ministers after woman marries two men
Polyandry is not new to Himachal Pradesh and a primary reason for its prevalence in some parts of the state is keeping a family intact and the landholdings undivided, say multiple people familiar with this tradition. This anachronistic tradition came to limelight after two brothers of the Hatti tribe in Shillai village of the Transgiri area of Sirmaur district tied the knot to the same woman earlier this month. 'It is not a new tradition. Polyandry is a part of ancient tribal tradition and culture to keep the land undivided and is prevalent in parts of Kinnaur and Sirmaur districts,' said Revenue, Horticulture and Tribal Minister Jagat Singh Negi, who is the MLA from the Kinnaur constituency. Sunita Chauhan married Pradeep and Kapil Negi, saying they are proud of this tradition and have taken the decision jointly. 'The tradition is old and there would be a rare house in Shallai where such a marriage has not taken place,' said Industry Minister Harshwardhan, who represents the Shallai constituency. Revenue laws of Himachal Pradesh recognise this tradition, which is named 'Jodidara'. The tradition is also recognised under sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Himachal Pradesh's first Chief Minister, Y.S. Parmar, did research on this tradition and his Ph.D. from Lucknow University was on 'Polyandry in Himalayas 'Socio-economic background of Himalayan Polyandry'. 'According to the research of Y.S. Parmar, polyandry was prevalent in all five khand (sections) of the Himalayas from Kashmir to Nepal and there were psychological, biological and economic reasons behind the practice,' former chairman of Dr. Y.S. Parmar Chair at Himachal Pradesh University O.P. Sharma told PTI. Some segments of warrior communities, especially Khasu and Tod, believe that teh Pandavas of Mahabharata are their ancestors and willingly continue the tradition, he said, adding Parmar had also quoted statistics of screwed sex ratio which showed that the number of girls were less than boys. 'Keeping small landholdings intact and less expense on weddings were the economics behind the tradition,' he said. He asserted that Parmar 'did not encourage the practice of polyandry in view of women exploitation and I share the same views'. 'If live-in relations are accepted, then why is there an issue with age-old traditions? There are 15-20 families in my village Koti (Sirmaur district) where a woman is married to more than one man and we want the tradition to continue,' says law student Krishan Pratap Singh. Relations stay healthy in the family and land stays intact in joint marriage, says Balma Devi. Polyandry is an old tradition in which brotherhood remains and expenses are handled adequately, says Sant Ram. 'We four brothers are married to two women,' he adds. Hatti is a closed-knit community in the Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand border and was declared as Scheduled Tribe three years ago. In this tribe, polyandry was in vogue for centuries, but due to rising literacy among women and economic uplift of communities in the region, cases of polyandry were not reported much as it used to be a simple ceremony. 'We have got tribal status due to such old traditional practices which also find mention in revenue records. Polyandry is prevalent in about 150 villages in the Trans Giri area of Sirmaur district and is still a practising tradition in some villages. It was also prevalent in Jaunsar Babar, tribal area of Uttarakhand,' said spokesperson of Hatti Vikas Manch, Ramesh Singta. Such marriages are being solemnised in a clandestine manner and accepted by the society but instances are fewer, elders in the village said. Kundan Singh Shastri, general secretary of the prime body of the Hatti community Kendriya Hatti Samiti, said this tradition was invented thousands of years ago to save a family's agricultural land from further division. Another reason is to promote brotherhood and mutual understanding in a joint family by marrying even two or more brothers born from different mothers with a single bride, he told PTI. The third reason is a feeling of security. 'If you have a big family with more men, you are more secure in a tribal society,' he said, adding it also helps in managing scattered agriculture lands in far-flung, hard, hilly areas which requires a family for a long time for care and cultivation. These requirements of tribal families have kept the polyandry system in practice for thousands of years; though these traditions are slowly dying, Mr. Shastri added.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
War of words begins as Jairam Thakur slams Jagat Singh Negi over ‘irresponsible statement'
Former chief minister and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jairam Thakur on Monday questioned the state Revenue, Horticulture and Tribal Minister Jagat Singh Negi for his purported comments towards the recent disaster struck in many areas in district Mandi including Seraj, which is being represented by the LoP. More than two dozens of people have been killed and several missing following cloudburst incidents in Mandi district. Referring to the alleged statement of Negi, in which he said 'when a tragedy struck in my area then I realised the pain of general public', Thakur said, 'there might be some personal differences between me and the minister but being a part of the state government, the Revenue Minister should not made such irresponsible statement. He should visit the disaster affected areas, especially Seraj'. The LoP also urged CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to intervene in this matter. Thakur made these remarks during his interaction with media over certain issues including the transfer of a (executive engineer-) XEN-ranked official at Thunag in Mandi during the ongoing relief works. Thakur was in Mandi since July 1 and came to Shimla on Sunday. Terming the accusations of Thakur 'baseless', Negi accused the former CM of misrepresenting the facts, statements of his opponents in the media. 'Jairam Thakur has some issues with me. His behavior was never appropriate towards me since he was the chief minister and I was in the Opposition. I have been performing my duties being the Revenue, Horticulture and Tribal minister successfully. The entire government is standing like a rock behind the people of Mandi including Seraj in this time of crisis,' the revenue minister said. Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Thakur also accused the Congress-led Himachal Pradesh government of 'insensitivity' and 'inaction' in the wake of the recent disaster in Mandi. He claimed that an executive engineer who was doing commendable work on the ground was transferred under pressure from certain political leaders. 'Till date, no senior officer from the state government has been deputed in Mandi,' he alleged. Thakur claimed that the government's indifference stems from the fact that the disaster occurred in his constituency. 'Recently, I received a call from the Panchayati Raj Minister suggesting that the Panchayati Raj Institute be shifted from Mandi. I challenge the government to show a single crack in that institute due to the disaster. Then why shift it?' he asked.
