They were already married in the true sense, but their society did not recognise them as a couple. They all have children, yet they required a ‘social marriage'. At a mass wedding ceremony on Sunday, organised by Purbanchal Kalyan Ashram at Mallarpur in Birbhum, 61 Santal tribal couples tied the knot following traditional rituals. The local jog majhi (village head priest) conducted the ceremony. The ‘gaye halud' of the couples took place on Saturday.
Uttam Mahato, an official of Kalyan Ashram, said: "In the Janajati community, a number of couples cannot hold weddings with rituals due to financial constraints. Though they are known as a couple and have children, they are not recognised by society as they didn't sanctify the marriage. They face social discrimination in everyday life. Our village committees contacted the local jog majhis and selected those couples whose requirement is urgent. In consultation with jog majhis, these 61 couples were selected from two districts. Thirty-six couples are from Birbhum and 25 from Murshidabad."
Approximately Rs 25,000 was spent for each couple. Apart from this, around 6,000 from their villages were invited to a mass feast. Mahato said the entire cost was borne by three Kolkata-based families, who wanted to celebrate their marriage anniversary by funding a mass wedding for financially underprivileged tribal people. The three families attended the ceremony.
Jog majhi Paul Hansda, who supervised the arrangements, said: "A meeting of all the jog majhis concerned was held. The weddings were conducted with their permission. Many couples cannot lead normal lives as they could not sanctify their marriage. The initiative taken by Kalyan Ashram will bring them social recognition."
Vivek Chiraniya, a Kolkata-based chartered accountant and one of those who funded the mass wedding, said: "We find this the best way to celebrate our 25th marriage anniversary. I covered the expenses for 25 couples. We shared a unique experience today with our tribal brothers."
Kalyan Hansda, a teacher at Visva-Bharati, said: "This is a good initiative. Many in the tribal community are stricken by poverty. Thousands of them can't afford the cost of marriage but live as a couple. This wedding can connect them to our tribal rituals and save them from any kind of social discrimination."