Community leaders in Dahod have been trying to ensure that mass weddings are held to ensure that tribal residents of the area do not get caught in a debt trap. This met with some success this year when four couples got married at a mass wedding.
Weddings can be expensive affairs with people taking loans to spend on them. Marriages are not just a financial burden on those getting married but also on guests who have to spend on lavish gifts.
When community members had tried to hold a mass wedding last year, only two couples were willing. This year, four couples got married in a mass wedding, according to the president of Birsa Munda Bhavan and former IPS officer, V M Parghi.
Media exposure
Exposure to media and mobile content are changing the socio-economic fabric in tribal areas and all aspects of tribal life, including marriages, say experts on tribal culture.
In an attempt to imitate the lives of more affluent people, they are spending more on marriages in the past 10 years. Tribals are spending more on food, DJs, photography, costly jewellery, and even dowry.
Taking loans from private moneylenders or advances from employers to fund weddings has become common. Mass weddings are an attempt to arrest this trend.
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