We’ve seen several public protests and solutions implemented by state governments post-demonetisation, but nothing beats the novel idea proposed by Meghwal communities in Rajasthan. The Meghwal Samaj (society) of Udaipur proposed a unique solution to currency crunch in state– mass marriage with free honeymoon to attract the youths. The scheme is applicable only when 51 couples participate in this wedding. This large-scale gala is scheduled in February 2017. The idea is to kill two birds with a single stone–
- To help poor or needy families cope with ongoing currency crisis resulting from demonetisation and
- To prevent wastage of resources.
As per Udaipur Meghwal society president Ganesh Lal, there are around 20,000 Meghwal youths in Udaipur, who’ve reached the marriageable age. The group hopes this move will educated the youths regarding benefits of mass wedding. It’ll also unite the community as a whole.
Mass Marriage with Free Honeymoon Trip will Hopefully Resolve Money Issues for Both Bride and Groom
As per organizers, a single mass wedding costs around Rs.8-10 lakh wherein both the bride and groom bear some part of the expenditure. The group charges Rs. 23,000 from the bride’s family and Rs. 25,000 from the groom’s family to collect funds for arrangements. Apart from the usual rituals, the money is used to arrange a community feast for around 5,000 people, including the relatives and acquaintances of the couples’ families.
Besides this, the community offers new utensils and furniture to the groom’s family. Last year, they handed out helmets to the newlyweds to promote government’s road safety campaign.
According to Prachar Mantri Prakash Meghwal, the community had already organized mass weddings for people. Despite several awareness attempts and high-scale publicity, people are hesitant to marry their children at collective functions. They look down upon this practice and avoid it because lavish weddings reflect a high social status in society.
Even Prakash Meghwal got his siblings married in one of the community marriages to send a positive word across. He feels mass marriages are beneficial to society. Though people know its value and preach about it, but they hardly practice the same.
Only 20 couples have participated in last three mass weddings held by the community so far. Hopefully, the number will increase as a result of this step.
