Bhopal:
In the guts of Madhya Pradesh, nestled amid the rugged terrains of Rajgarh district, lies Jaitpura – a village the place time appears to have stopped, leaving desires in shackles and childhoods stolen. Here, innocence is traded, and the merciless weight of custom drags kids 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 kids whose laughter has been silenced by customs like youngster marriage and engagement, sure by the age-old follow of Jhagda-Natra.
This grim custom calls for exorbitant quantities from households searching 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 kids 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 received married on the age of 10 years… Every day, ladies listed here are married off. This should cease,” she stated, her voice heavy with the burden 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 youngsters.
One father or mother defined the cruel actuality: “Here relationships are sometimes fastened even earlier than beginning. When a lady is six months pregnant, households decide-‘in case you have a boy and we have now a lady, they are going to be engaged.’ They follow their phrase. As kids 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 Dreams in Chains
These selections affect kids profoundly, robbing them of their innocence and desires. Some are as younger as one 12 months outdated when they’re engaged, marked with bracelets or lockets to suggest the dedication.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 in the course of the engagement.”
Another youngster, Mangilal’s fiancée, stated: “I used to be only a 12 months outdated once I received engaged. I do not keep in mind a lot, however I do know his identify is Mangilal. I did not obtain something in the course of the engagement.”
For many, these symbols of dedication are usually not cherished however burdensome.
A boy, simply 10 years outdated, was vocal about his discomfort. “I used to be given sweets once I received engaged, however I did not need to. I’ve decided-I will not marry. I’m within the fifth customary, and I need to turn into a health care provider,” he stated.
For the younger ladies, anklets and bangles are usually not adornments however symbols of oppression. The ache, each bodily and emotional, weighs closely on them.
“My toes harm quite a bit due to the anklets. I inform my mother and father day by day, however they are saying I have to put on them. This is bondage. I need freedom from these,” a lady stated.
For most, these ornaments signify a lifelong burden.
A ten-year-old, married when she was far youthful, stated: “The bangles had been placed on me throughout my engagement and marriage. They’re stated to boost a lady’s magnificence, however to me, they’re shackles. Sometimes, when there’s bother at my in-laws’ home, these bangles are eliminated and offered.”
Villagers justify the system as a compulsion – a strategy to escape debt, or wedding ceremony bills. But it’s the kids who pay the worth, their lives diminished to mere transactions.
Govardhan Tanwar, the deputy sarpanch, sounded matter of truth. “Engagements occur when mother and father are drunk. They take loans, marry off their daughters, and the cycle continues.”
According to the National Family Health Survey-5, 46 per cent of girls aged 20-24 in Rajgarh had been married earlier than they turned 18. Education stays a distant dream, with over half the ladies within the district illiterate.
Breaking these shackles comes at a price. Families should pay hefty fines to annul pre-arranged marriages, usually 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 known as ‘jhagda’ (penalty), for canceling the wedding. In some instances, practices like nata or natara, involving widows or deserted ladies 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 wrestle. It is the story of numerous villages the place custom chains childhood, and desires are offered.