
Two Himachal brothers marry same woman adopting tribal tradition of polyandry
PTI
Nahan/Shimla (HP), Jul 19 (PTI) Two brothers of the Hatti tribe tied the knot to a woman in Shillai village of Himachal Pradesh, with hundreds of people witnessing the marriage solemnised under the anachronistic tradition of polyandry.
Bride Sunita Chauhan and grooms Pradeep and Kapil Negi said they took the decision without any pressure.
Local folk songs and dances added colour to the ceremony that began on July 12 and lasted for three days in the Trans-Giri area of Sirmaur district.
Videos of the wedding ceremony have gone viral on the internet.
Revenue laws of Himachal Pradesh recognise this tradition and named it 'Jodidara". In Badhana village in Trans-Giri, five such marriages have taken place in the past six years.
Sunita, who hails from Kunhat village, said that she was aware of the tradition and made her decision without any pressure, adding she respects the bond they have formed.
Pradeep, from Shillai village, works in a government department while his younger brother Kapil has a job abroad.
'We followed the tradition publicly as we are proud of it and it was a joint decision," said Pradeep.
Kapil said he may live abroad, but through this marriage, 'we're ensuring support, stability and love for our wife as a united family".
'We've always believed in transparency," he added.
Hatti is a closed-knit community in the Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand border and was declared as Scheduled Tribe three years ago. In this tribe, polyandry was in vogue for centuries, but due to rising literacy among women and economic uplift of communities in the region, cases of polyandry were not reported.
Such marriages are being solemnised in a clandestine manner and accepted by the society but instances are fewer, elders in the village said.
According to experts, one of the main considerations behind the tradition was to ensure that the ancestral land was not divided while the share of tribal women in the ancestral property is still a main issue.
There are nearly three lakh people of the Hatti community who live in about 450 villages in the Trans Giri area of Sirmaur district and polyandry is still a practising tradition in some villages. It was also prevalent in Jaunsar Babar, tribal area of Uttarakhand and Kinnaur, a tribal district of Himachal Pradesh.
Kundan Singh Shastri, general secretary of Kendriya Hatti Samiti, the prime body of the Hatti community, said this tradition was invented thousands of years ago to save a family's agricultural land from further division.
Another reason is to promote brotherhood and mutual understanding in a joint family by marrying even two or more brothers born from different mothers with a single bride, he told PTI.
The third reason is a feeling of security 'if you have bigger family, more men, you are more secure in a tribal society", he said, adding it also helps in managing scattered agriculture lands in far-flung hard hilly areas which requires a family for a long time for care and cultivation.
These requirements of tribal families have kept the polyandry system for thousands of years, in practice, though these traditions are slowly dying, Shastri added.
In this unique tribal tradition of marriage known as 'Jajda", the bride comes to the village of the groom in a procession and the ritual known as 'Seenj" is performed at the residence of the groom.
The pandit chant mantras in local language with sprinkling holy water on the bride and groom and offer them jaggery in the end, with blessings that their Kul Devta may bring sweetness in their married life. PTI COR BPL ZMN
view comments
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


News18
an hour ago
- News18
CM Saini announces govts target to plant 2.10 crore saplings across Haryana
Chandigarh, Jul 23 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday announced that the state government has set a target of planting 2.10 crore saplings across the state this year. He gave a call to plant the maximum number of saplings for environmental conservation and to ensure a healthier planet and sustainable future. The chief minister said, 'With the support of citizens, I am confident that we will surpass this target once again." Addressing a state-�level 'Van Mahotsav' programme organised at Morni in the Panchkula district, Saini also announced that the plantations initiated by the Forest Department will be geo-tagged and regularly mapped using drones each year. Their growth will be monitored for up to five years to ensure effective implementation and contribute to increasing the forest cover in Haryana. Since October 2014, about 18 crore saplings have been planted across the state, he said. Saini also appealed to the people of the state to ensure that every family plants at least one tree during this monsoon season. He said that under the first phase of 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign, 1.87 crore saplings have been planted in Haryana, surpassing the target of 1.60 crore saplings. On this occasion, the chief minister also released two booklets published by the Forest and Wildlife Department, focusing on 'Herbal Vatika' and the development of Nature Trails to promote eco-tourism in the Morni region. 'Van Mahotsav is not just a tree-plantation programme, it is a commitment that reminds us that nature is our life, and protecting it is our foremost duty. Our ancestors taught us the saying, 'Vriksho Rakshati Rakshitah', which means �those who protect trees are, in turn, protected by them," the chief minister added. PTI SUN MNK MNK view comments First Published: July 23, 2025, 21:00 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.


News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Jet crash tragedy sends shockwaves beyond school compound in Bangladesh
Dhaka, Jul 23 (PTI) Soon after the bell rang indicating the end of class hours for the day at Milestone School and College in Bangladesh capital's Uttara area on Monday, a smiling 11-year-old Samiul Karim started walking towards his father. 'Suddenly the warplane crashed with a big boom and simultaneously a small burning chunk of the plane hit Samiul on his back," said his father Rezaul Karim, a garment exporter, on Wednesday. The father rushed towards him screaming 'help, help" when a military soldier nearby opened his shirt to wrap the boy and douse the fire. 'My boy was trembling as I grabbed him by my chest," Karim, tears still flowing, said. Karim is not alone in describing the grief caused due to the loss of a child. Monday's crash continues to send shock waves as unrelenting stories of agonies of the children and their parents and siblings flooded news outlets and social media platforms. A F-7 BGI aircraft, a training fighter jet manufactured in China, experienced a 'mechanical fault" moments after takeoff and crashed into a two-storey building of the Milestone school on Monday killing 32 people, including 26 children. As scores of people passed agonising hours with pains due to burn wounds at different hospitals, many of them in critical condition, parents of young children broke down narrating memories after burying their dear ones. A video clip on social media showed a boy running helter-skelter in bare feet with his burnt-out school dress. He could be clearly seen screaming but the video did not grab his voice. In another video, a boy accompanied by two fellow students, was seen hastily crossing a road to enter a hospital in Uttara signaling the moving vehicles to halt with one of his burnt hands. A Bangla daily described how a surviving student said that after coming out of the building amid smoke and dust, he went back to the crash site to one of the classrooms to see the condition of his friends, defying advice of volunteers. He found his best friend with fatal wounds. 'My friend told me, 'I knew you will come' – just before he breathed his last," the student told the daily. The daily Star newspaper said, fourth-grader Raisa's body was found at Dhaka's Combined Military Hospital (CMH), a day after the incident. Her parents, who were running from pillar to post till then, had recovered only her charred school bag and books from the crash site rubble. Another underage boy Ayan from Uttara area, lying in the ICU at another hospital, repeatedly cried urging his parents to take him away. 'I don't want to stay here anymore," his father told PTI on phone quoting his son. 'Ma (mother), I'm going to school. Ta-ta!" said nine-year-old Sayma to her mother before leaving her Gazipur home on Monday morning. After a massive search from hospital to hospital, the mother found her daughter at the CMH morgue in the evening. Yet another child who died in the crash was a class III student Nusrat Jahan Anika, youngest of three siblings. A video on social media showed her father Abul Hossain saying: 'My daughter was fun loving, always laughing and smiling. She liked to wear new dresses, liked to visit eateries to taste good food and travel to newer places. We recently toured Cox's Bazar sea beach at her insistence." Meanwhile, an air force helicopter brought Samiul Karim to Dhaka's CMH. But he did not survive the injuries. Back home, neighbours and relatives said his mother Reshma Karim continued to faint after regaining consciousness for a brief period after her younger son's death. 'My son for whatever reason did not want to go to school that day, but I convinced him not to miss his classes… how can I forgive myself?" she said. Milestone School and College's vice principal Salma Rouf said, the bell that rang at the school to announce the end of class hours for the day virtually turned out to be a signal for the students' eternal leave. PTI AR NPK NPK view comments First Published: July 23, 2025, 20:30 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.


News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Delhi to add 2,856 modern bus queue shelters inspired by global designs
New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) The Delhi government will construct 2,856 modern bus queue shelters across the capital, drawing design models from global cities like London, Singapore and Moscow as well as Indian cities to offer commuters a smarter and more uniform travel experience. The government plans to replace outdated Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) shelters under this major revamp and expand the existing network with modern structures and innovative designs. These new shelters will feature digital display screens showing real-time bus arrival information, route maps, QR code-based feedback systems, solar panels for energy efficiency, CCTV cameras for enhanced security, USB charging ports and smart lighting to improve visibility and safety during night hours, an official told PTI. To achieve uniformity, 1,397 shelters have already undergone feasibility surveys and an additional 1,459 shelters are proposed for the next phase, bringing the total to 2,856, the official said. All 2,856 shelters will be taken under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model with no expenditure from the Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (DTIDC), following a recent meeting chaired by the Delhi transport minister, he added. Among these, 250 are old-type DTC shelters, 1,580 are stainless steel modern shelters, and 191 are mild steel shelters installed through MP and MLA LAD funds. PTI NSM ANM NSM ANM KSS KSS (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 23, 2025, 20:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.