As much as Indian weddings are grand and fun, they are also patriarchal and regressive in nature. Even if you ignore the problematic rituals followed in the wedding process, the fact that the family of the bride is given less respect because she is a woman is appalling.
Other things like giving dowry in the name of gifts and burdening the bride’s family with all the financial expenses of the wedding are some things that annoy many these days.
But what happened in Gujarat recently is not just heartbreaking but shameful too. According to a report by News18, a bride from Gujarat’s Bhavnagar died of a heart attack while she was in the middle of her wedding rituals. The woman named Hetal fell unconscious while she was performing the rituals of getting married to her groom Vishal at Bhagwaneshwar Mahadev Temple in Bhavnagar.
She was rushed to the nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead by doctors. The celebrations immediately turned into mourning for the bride’s family. But, in the midst of the family grieving the sudden demise of their daughter, some relatives came up with the most bizarre and senseless idea.
Thinking about why should the groom suffer, some suggested that the late bride’s younger sister should get married to the groom already present at the wedding venue.
Even at such a sad moment, they thought ‘why should a man be disappointed when he wasn’t at fault?’ And to our surprise, Hetal’s parents agreed to this proposal and got their younger daughter married to Vishal. While they were taking the auspicious pheras, the bride’s sister was laying dead at the morgue.
According to the corporator of Bhavnagar city and leader of Maldhari Samaj, Laxmanbhai Rathore, the members of society convinced the late bride’s parents to set an example and not send the bridegroom and his family ’empty-handed’.
When this strange incident made headlines, people online were shocked to see how dispensable women are in India. This is how they reacted:
"Hetal’s body was reportedly kept in cold storage until the ceremony was over."
The one line that tells you how dispensable women are in India. Their lives are meant nothing. https://t.co/fxOuMUdAA5
— Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai) February 26, 2023
I am sick to the stomach reading this.
— Kiran Manral (@KiranManral) February 26, 2023
This is not okay…. We are not okay.
— Mahima Kaul (@misskaul) February 27, 2023
So painful. Sounds like women are akin to a “commodity” to them, to be replaced. My heart goes out to the younger sister who must have been forced into this. That last line “not send the bridegroom and his family empty handed” – makes me cringe and cry. Long way to go …Sigh
— Ami Shah (@ami_b_shah) February 26, 2023
Maybe she had a premonition about her life post shaadi ..sick society
— Nivi Shrivastava (@msjunebug_nivi) February 26, 2023
Replaceable objects built to serve men and their families. To the groom, it doesn’t matter who he marries. To the society, it matters that the groom and his family’s time isn’t wasted. For the girl’s family and the sister, who cares what they might really be feeling?
— LazyNomad (@bluelephant5) February 26, 2023
Just imagining the reverse! The girl would have probably been labelled unlucky & left to fend for the rest of her life
— Jermina (@JerminaMenon) February 26, 2023
the girl's parent and the groom are so vile to do this.
.
.
and this is the man you are marrying your other daughter. horrible case of how our society takes women for granted☹️☹️ https://t.co/ReFkyExrVu— ✨ (@l___lovegood) February 27, 2023
“Empty handed” defines everything that’s wrong with our world. https://t.co/m1eyFJx17j
— Accidental Writer (She/Her) (@accidentlwriter) February 27, 2023
A girl is dead but the pride of man is priority. If you are not outraged and disgusted by this at all levels, you are the problem. Please don't give poverty and culture as a justification. Animals do better than us. https://t.co/jbrqQUzGqO
— Masth Minching (@masthminching) February 27, 2023
Gujarat competing hard with UP at being the amazeballs trash heap of the nation. https://t.co/I8dKa2Hbc2
— Debayan Sen (ਦੇਬਾਯਨ) (@debayansen) February 27, 2023
Members of society convinced them to set an example and not send the bridegroom and his family empty handed.
What an example- the young sister is a family owned puppet with no say.
A family can’t mourn.
Bharatiya parampama bull shit. https://t.co/h5fB0GDfnt— Aparna (@chhuti_is) February 27, 2023
Earlier, the same incident happened in Etawah district, Uttar Pradesh. The moment I think that society is getting better, incidents like this break my daydream.