India is a culturally rich country. However, with the scores of traditions and rituals, we also inherited some superstitions and beliefs from our ancestors. And this incident from Punjab’s Jalandhar shows how even in the 21st century we are still gripped by them.
India Today recently reported about an incident wherein a tuition teacher forcefully married her 13-year-old student because doing so would get rid of all her roadblocks.
The teacher, hailing from Basti Bawa Khel area of Jalandhar, who is reportedly Manglik, was suggested by a priest to ‘symbolically marry’ the young lad if she wanted to ward off the dosha from her kundali (birth-chart). Obviously, the woman and her family were paranoid when the pundit informed them about her ‘Manglik dosha’.
Hence, the teacher tricked the 13-year-old kid into staying with her for a week and told his parents that he had to stay back for tuitions.
The entire ordeal came to light when the boy returned home and revealed it to his family. In a formal complaint to the local cops, the victim said that the teacher and her family forcibly performed all the marriage rituals, right from Haldi to Mehendi and Suhagraat (wedding night) with him. They then declared her a widow and organized a condolence meeting for the kid to complete the rituals.
The boy’s family also added that he was also forced to do other household chores while he was under house arrest by his teacher’s family.
Even though a formal complaint was filed against the teachers, it was soon withdrawn after both the parties came to a settlement, confirmed Basti Bawa Khel Police Station House Officer Gagandeep Singh Sekhon. It has been reported that the accused teacher had pressurised the victim’s family to take back their complaint.
Nonetheless, the cops are investigating the matter as the boy is a minor, and keeping him in confinement was illegal, said DSP Jalandhar Gurmeet Singh.
In the name of rituals and traditions, we often find ourselves performing certain acts that can be termed as regressive and unnecessary. Don’t you think it’s time we open our blindfolds and look for ways to get rid of these inessential practices?