Marriage is said to be one of the happiest moments in a person’s life. Some call it a sacred bond. But this true story of a marriage is shocking showing the blackening of humanity. It mirrors the perverse mentality of exploiting and oppressing girls and women (especially tribals) in society by taking advantage of their poverty and helplessness.
This is the story of a 17-year-old minor girl from Katkari Wadi of Mokhada, a tribal-dominated taluka of Palghar district. 5 to 6 Kms from the Taluka location lies a village called Poshera. To the east of this village is Katkari Wadi with a population of around 600-700. It was reported that a minor girl named Abla (the name is changed) was being forced to marry in exchange for money and the girl was being pressured for it. A social worker from AROEHAN came to know about the situation. Realizing the seriousness of the incident, the activists of the organisation reached the village immediately. They met with the minor and her family. The reality of the situation was shocking.
AROEHAN ACTIVISTS INQUIRE THE SITUATION IN KATKARI WADI
It was reported that an unknown person from Chalisgaon-Nagar Deola in Jalgaon district has a connection with a middleman in the tribal community to take the advantage of the poverty and helplessness of tribes. The minorтАЩs aunt revealed that the suspect gave the father Rs. 15,000 in exchange for marrying the girl to him and would give Rs. 50,000 more after the marriage. The father signed the affidavit for it. (This affidavit is available but we do not have a copy with us). The minorтАЩs mother passed when she was young and was looked after by her aunt. The fatherтАЩs financial condition is poor and is an alcoholic. He does not pay attention to the girl and agreed with the marriage proposal in exchange for money. None of the rites of pre-wedding took place, the girl did not even see the person once. To impress the daughter and the father, the person used to send photos of expensive clothes and sarees and pressured her to get married to him as soon as possible. The girl talked with the boy a couple of times on the phone. As the situation looked suspicious, the relatives told the mediator to make proper arrangements to see the boy. The broker instead told the father to go to the boyтАЩs house and do the тАЬKumkum ceremonyтАЭ. The father said they cannot have a such ceremony without the daughter. Upon insistence, both father and girl went to boyтАЩs house but there were no people responsible for the ceremony present. The aunt became suspicious about the situation and asked the girlтАЩs father to take a hard look at the situation. He thought about it and decided not to marry the girl.
After the rejection, the broker pressured the family to return the Rs. 15,000. The father and the daughter were shocked. They could not return the money as it was already spent. They reached out to AROEHAN and we gave them support. We asked them not to give him any money. The broker came to the village and AROEHANтАЩs activists had a conversation with him. The broker was warned not to pester the family anymore or there will be legal action against him. He publicly agreed to not ask for money again. Though the issue was resolved it brought attention to a bigger issue here. ThereтАЩs a suspicion there is criminal activity possibly backed by a gang or individual to sell/traffick tribal girls in the name of marriage going on. Because we came to know from many people about the occurrence of such incidents in the area.
According to them, every year in Jawhar and Mokhada many tribal girls go missing. A muffled discussion could be heard about it now and then. These incidents do not come forward due to the dire economic condition of the tribes, lack of awareness among people, and also issues like alcoholism play a role in it. It is said that parents of girls fall prey to the lure of a small amount of money and engage their daughters. Even if there is any sort of opposition, the parents sometimes take the culpritтАЩs side as they have taken the money. They also get afraid of the brokers and the other party thinking they might harm the family or even murder them, and they don’t come forward with the issue. WhatтАЩs more numbing is that the brokers who arrange such marriages to take advantage of poor people and minor girls are often from their own community and locality. Due to sheer unawareness and fragile conditions, sometimes parents donтАЩt even realise their daughters are been taken advantage of and there is no question of anyone complaining. This terrible reality is not publicly read or recorded anywhere. Even after 75 years of independence tribals are making such bargains for their daughters and their wings are cut before they even get a chance to fly. What kind of freedom do we live in? ItтАЩs high time we look at such situations carefully and act now.
-Pradeep Khairkar (translated to English by Naitri Patel) AROEHAN
In the quest to increase livelihood and income opportunities for farmers, AROEHAN organises trainings for farmers every month. Various initiatives like orchard farming, social forestry, pieces of training, and workshops for farmers.
This month we conducted training sessions on Agribusiness and Fish Farming. The Agribusiness sessions were held in association with Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kosbad Hill at Gomghar and Koshimshet on September 16 and 20. Over 120 farmers attended these sessions on orchards and rice plantations. Facilitators Bharat Kushare and Uttam Sahane educated farmers on fertilizer methods and management, pest control, and orchard cultivation, and gave guidance on flora management, organic fertilisers, and water a primary source of income for flower farming, and multi-cropping planning. Rice plantation is most farmers. The trainers guided them on identifying pests and diseases affecting rice yield and how to control it. Trainers gave extensive guidance on how to increase production at a lower cost and discussed effective planting technologies. Farmers were provided with information booklets and pheromone traps for pest control at the end of the session. For people interested in fish farming, a separate three-day training was held from September 21 to 23. The training was facilitated by experts from Taraporwala Research Centre, Dr. Shardul Gangad, Pravin Sapkale and Ravindra Bondre. The trainers gave extensive guidance on methods and opportunities in fish farming. The participants were educated about different fish breeds, the usage of fish seeds, the types of fish farming and the challenges that came with it. The trainers helped them to chalk out how to get started with fish farming. From site selection to breeding and markets and sales, the attendees were given detailed guidance. The 25 participants were honoured with information booklets, pest traps, fish seeds, and certificates on the last training day. AROEHAN plans to utilise fish farming as a sustainable source of livelihood and income for marginalised and landless farmers and other less privileged populations. Local fish breeding, containing and food processing, storage, networking, and sales will be the main focus of this initiative in the near future. Upon giving the vote of thanks to Taraporwala Research Centre, AROEHANтАЩs CEO Amit Narkar urged them to extend their support to fish farming as we embark on this initiative. Dr. Shardul Gandad seconded it and said they will make all the possible efforts to help expand this initiative in the future.
Working with Aroehan has been an eye opener for me. Actually, it delivers shocks when I witness the activities.
Aroehan is an NGO. In 2005-06, 169 children below the age of six died in Mokhada due to malnutrition. That led to formation of AROEHAN. It is striving to bring sustainable changes to the tribal communities. I got associated with Aroehan over the last two years.
With Madhuri, Ganesh (who work for Aroehan) and Sulabha, my wife, I went to Kurlod. It is a village consisting of many тАШpada’ or hamlets. Our vehicle took us to Pethecha Pada. Madhuri said that we had to walk to Shedyacha Pada where she had arranged meetings with the villagers. (More about our discussion with the villagers in another blog).
Shedyacha Pada is about two Kms away from Pethecha Pada, but you must cross a river. Pinjal River.
Presently the river does not have much water so one can cross it easily, jumping over the rocks. Then you climb up a tiny hill to Jambhul Vadi. Shedyacha Pada is a little further away. In the monsoon, both these hamlets get cut off completely from Pethecha Pada, putting the villagers’ life at risk in many ways.
We finished our meetings with people at Shedyacha Pada. Sarita and Meenakshi from Aroehan had arranged all meetings. We were walking back to cross the river when two persons approached us at Jambhul Vadi. They had some discussion with Madhuri and Sarita. They looked worried.
┬аMadhuri and Sarita in discussion with Patient’s relatives
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“A person is very sick. He must be taken to Hospital immediately. They were asking if he can be taken in our vehicle.”
“What did you say?”
“Yes, I said. If somebody is critically ill, there is no choice.”
“How will they cross the river? Can the patient walk?”
“They will carry him in a hammock. They do it тАУ I mean they have to do it often. Sad. There is no way out!”
We crossed the river. And walked a few steps when Madhuri looked back and said “Look, they are already on the way.”
I turned back. They were crossing the river. It had taken me good time to cross it, balancing my way on the rocks. They crossed it as if it was as smooth as a runway! They walked incredibly fast with a fifty-kilo patient cuddled in their hammock! And barefoot!!
┬аCarrying Patient in a Hammock across Pinjal River
I reached for my mobile and shot the video.
“Where will they go?” I asked Madhuri.
“There is a hospital about twenty Kms away. Our vehicle will take him there and then it will return to pick us up.”
“What happens when the river is in spate during the monsoon?”
“HE decides if the patient must survive or die. No help is available.” She pointed finger to the sky.
“A PHC (Primary Health Centre) unit is sanctioned for us. Since 2014. But it has not come up.” A villager said.
“It will come up soon. We must not lose hope,” another said.
“Till then this river will decide the life and death issues” the villager said.
I was feeling relieved that our vehicle was available for the patient. That it was available was just a coincidence.
We walked our way to the Pada. No word uttered. Feeling helpless. And powerless.
