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Time of India
2 days ago
- General
- Time of India
2 bros, their bride keep rare polyandry alive in Himachal Pradesh
Kullu: Embracing their age-old polyandry custom, two brothers and a woman from the Haati community have entered a wedlock in the remote trans-Giri region of Sirmaur district in Himachal Pradesh — a rarity for being openly celebrated, and special for giving the woman the freedom to choose which husband she'll live with. Brothers Pradeep Negi and Kapil Negi married Sunita Chauhan, a resident of Kunhat, in Shillai village of Sirmaur district in a three-day function that concluded on July 14. Hundreds of villagers and relatives witnessed the marriage ceremony and participated in the function, which concluded with Pradeep, Kapil, and Sunita taking to the wedding stage and dancing together to traditional folk songs as village elders blessed the throuple. While Pradeep is employed with the Jal Shakti department, Kapil works abroad in the hospitality sector. Sunita has completed her training from an Industrial Training Institute (ITI). "It's a moment of great joy for all the Haati community members. We are feeling proud because our educated youth are not only keeping our old traditions alive but also setting an example. There are many such secretive marriages in our community, but these three youngsters created history by marrying publicly," said Hira Singh, a relative of the grooms. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo "The decision to marry was taken by the grooms and the bride together. It was their collective wish, and no one was forced to do anything," Singh added. The Giri river divides Sirmaur district into two almost equal parts. The Haatis mostly live in 154 panchayats of the five tehsils of the trans-Giri region — Shillai, Sangrah, Kamrau, Rajgarh, Nohradhar, and the two sub-tehsils of Ronahat and Pajohta. Known for their distinctive culture and unique traditions, the Haatis number around three lakh in Sirmaur district, and a total of 14 castes — including the Scheduled Castes, OBCs, and the general category — are part of the community. According to Amichand Kamal, the president of the Kendriya Haati Samiti (KHS), which led a successful decade-long campaign to get the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Haati community, the polyandry custom is practised mainly to prevent land division. "Polyandry was a norm in tribal societies, including the Haati community, as it prevented the fragmentation of ancestral land and stopped widowhood. Also, a woman enjoys more freedom under this custom as she can choose her husbands as well as leave them without anybody questioning her decision," said Kamal. He further said polyandry was not rare, but the number of such marriages had dropped significantly. "Polyandry is a socially acceptable custom in the Haati community, and though primitive, such matrimonial alliances are perfectly legal in tribal societies. The number of such alliances has come down over the centuries, but it's not a rare phenomenon as people still marry but maintain secrecy," said Kamal. Polyandry was also prevalent in Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur, but over the last few decades, such marriages have become extremely rare in these two tribal districts. "The custom of polyandry has almost ended in Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur, mainly due to the rise of nuclear families and people's migration from tribal areas to neighbouring districts. There has also been a gradual shift from agriculture to the service sector in these two districts," said Shamsher Singh, a research scholar on folk art and a resident of Lahaul Spiti. "The custom, however, still exists, though in a very weak form in Sirmaur's trans-Giri area and the neighbouring Jaunsar-Bawar region of Uttarakhand mainly due to a strong influence of the epic Mahabharata on their culture," said Shamsher. "In the Haati community, there are those who believe they are the descendants of Kauravas and there are others who say Pandavas were their ancestors. This huge influence of Mahabharata, especially the marriage of the five Pandavas to Draupadi, continues to reflect in Haati customs," he added. MSID:: 122797318 413 |
India Gazette
13-07-2025
- India Gazette
J-K: Ramban administration ensures round-the-clock sanitation for Amarnath Yatra
Ramban (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 13 (ANI): The Ramban district administration has made elaborate and round-the-clock arrangements to ensure cleanliness and sanitation during the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, aiming to provide a safe and hygienic environment for pilgrims. According to the Assistant Commissioner Panchayat, Mohammed Ashfaq Khanji, who is also the Nodal Officer for sanitation during Amarnath Yatra, said that strong measures have been put in place to maintain hygiene at lodgment centres and langar sites, with over 1,200 washrooms and around 200 sanitation workers deployed. Khanji added that supervisory staff are working round the clock, with full support from the Jal Shakti department to ensure there is no shortage of water or lapses in sanitation. He also said that sufficient water is available for maintaining sanitation at these Langar sites and lodgement centres. Speaking to ANI, Mohammed Ashfaq Khanji said, 'We have 8 lodgment centres in rural areas and 4 in urban areas. Around 1200 washrooms are present in lodgment centres and langar sites for which we have hired around 200 sanitation workers... We have also deployed supervisory staff over them, working round the clock... We have a high focus on ensuring there are no lapses in sanitation. We have huge support from the Jal Shakti department, and there is sufficient quantity of water for our work...' Earlier on Saturday, the 10th batch of devotees departed from the Pahalgam's Nunwan base camp for their pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath. 'Chhari Mubarak', the auspicious mace of Lord Shiva, was taken to Pahalgam from Srinagar for Bhoomi Pujan, Navgrah Pujan and flag hoisting. The 38-day annual Amarnath pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine in south Kashmir began on July 3 and will conclude on August 9. (ANI)
Time of India
30-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Now agri scientists will visit farms to help farmers boost production: Yogi
Lucknow: Lauding Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan, a national campaign aimed at educating farmers about modern and sustainable agricultural technologies as well as practices, CM Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said that this was the first time when agricultural scientist would come out of their labs and other big institutions to take stock of the agricultural land at the ground level and devise strategies to meet the challenges the farmers face. Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Yogi said that the initiative will prove to be a foundation of the 'Viksit Bharat Abhiyan' envisioned by PM Narendra Modi. He said that agriculture scientists, officials from the agriculture and the allied sectors and farmers would come together to wheel in measures for higher agricultural productivity and growth. "The broader objective of the campaign is 'lab to Land'. The interaction and dialogue between scientists and farmers will prove to be a milestone," he said. The CM said that this will also be a key step for making UP a 1 trillion USD economy in the next four years. Stressing that agriculture and farming underwent a sea change over the past 11 years, Yogi said that farmer centric measures like soil health card, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, due MSP have been implemented. "It is for the first time that farmers have been associated with technology," he said. The CM said that the agriculture scientist would also assess the geographical and sociological situation besides understanding the climatic zone of the different areas to decipher the most productive seeds and crops accordingly. He said that not only the agriculture department but also the Jal Shakti department, cooperative, animal husbandry and horticulture, has a big role in farming. "The work of connecting 89 Krishi Vigyan Kendras, 826 development block headquarters, 8137 Nyaya Panchayats, Kisan Kalyan Kendras has been done with this campaign. When people associated with this field will promote the campaign, then a new revolutionary change will be seen in the field of agriculture," he said. Yogi said his govt undertook an exhaustive drive to improve agricultural productivity and usher in farmers' welfare in the last eight years. The CM noted that UP accounted for around 12% of the total agricultural land in the country but produced almost 22% of the total foodgrains. Yogi said that his govt was keeping a close tab on the changing weather conditions and their potential impact on crop productivity. "We need to take steps to provide better seeds to farmers to boost production," he said. The CM slammed the previous govts for not putting forward the agriculture agenda. "They used to claim to be taking farmer centric measures. But the ground situation was something different," he said, asserting that the farmers were devoid of seeds, fertilizers, water and even adequate MSP. "But farmers have been at the top of the agenda of the Modi govt," he said, citing how the govt carried out a drive for soil health cards and other key measures like PM Krishi Sichai and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. The CM said that the MSP for wheat in 2014 was only Rs 1000 per quintal. "This has not grown up to Rs 2,400. This has stoked such competition that the farmers were able to sell their produce in the open market at the rate of Rs 2,800 per quintal," he said, adding the govt took special measures for putting forth measures to improve irrigation facilities. He admonished the previous SP govt in UP for not allowing functioning of Krishi Vigyan Kendra and Centres of excellence constituted by the Centre. "All that has changed after 2017 (when BJP formed the govt in UP)," he said. He also admonished the previous govt for not giving due attention to the needs of sugarcane farmers who, he said, were forced to set their crop on fire. "One can understand the status of the then govt," he said, adding that the cane growers were not given time payment. He said that his govt has made more than Rs 7,2000 crore of cane due payment than the one made between 1996 and 2017 in UP. "Earlier sugar mills were forced to shut down. But today we are getting proposals for setting up new mills," he said. The event was attended by agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi, Jal Shakti minister Swatantra Dev Singh, livestock and dairy development minister Dharampal Singh, cooperation minister JPS Rathore, horticulture minister Dinesh Pratap Singh, minister of state for agriculture Baldev Singh Aulakh, Gauseva Commission chairman Shyam Bihari Gupta, and UPCAR chairman Captain Vikas Gupta. Yogi gives certificates to farmers Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath awarded certificates to farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan. The beneficiaries included Chet Ram Maurya (Chinhat), Anjani Verma (Itaunja), Kanhaiya Lal (Itaunja), Shivpujan (Salempur), and Lalta Prasad (Bakshi Ka Talab).
