It is no news that there is a strong presence of the Punjabi community in the US and in Canada. Every year, hundreds of Punjabis migrate to foreign countries seeking employment opportunities and a better lifestyle. However, one of the prerequisites to migrate to these foreign countries is cracking IELTS (International English Language Testing System) and since not everyone can do so, Punjabis have come up with a bizarre scheme.
According to a report by India Today, Punjabis have come up with the trend of contractual marriages, where a guy unable to crack IELTS will get married to a woman who has cracked it and has good academic and employment prospects. While she will be able to move abroad, the guy will provide her with whatever funding is required and will go alongside her with the help of a spouse visa.Â
This scheme is the brainchild of greedy travel agents who are now making hefty sums by arranging contractual marriages. There are also misleading matrimonial advertisements offering financial incentives to financially-weak yet promising brides.
“They look for an intelligent girl, but the contract remains a secret between the two families. They offer properties and promise to bear all the expenses. Also, there is a written agreement between the two families,” said Chandigarh-based PR consultant Sheeba Sharma.
However, this has given rise to fraud and harassment cases. Earlier, NRI grooms used to cheat women. Now, NRI brides are cheating men by extorting and abandoning them. Here is an example.
A guy named Gurpreet Singh who is a resident of Moga got married in 2006 to a woman who went to Canada in 2009 to pursue a course in child care. She left her daughter behind with her husband. Gurpreet Singh financially aided her in moving to Canada with Rs 14 lakh. But later when he requested her to look for sponsorship, she stopped communicating with him.
Like this, there are several other cases and even worse, that have led to suicide.
A lot of people believe that such schemes have brought shame to the institution of marriage and that such alliances should be banned. Do you agree?