Latest news with #VaishnaviHagawane
Indian Express
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Every daughter-in-law is my beloved sister': Deputy CM Eknath Shinde launches ‘Dowry-Free Maharashtra' campaign
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde Thursday announced the launch of the 'Dowry-Free Maharashtra' campaign under the Shiv Sena Mahila Aghadi, the party's women's wing, to 'ensure those who harass our sisters are dealt with firmly'. Shinde formally launched the anti-dowry drive, and unveiled the campaign's official logo during the Shiv Sena's 59th Foundation Day event held in Worli. The deputy CM said the Shiv Sena Mahila Aghadi will implement the Dowry-Free Maharashtra campaign across the state. The announcement comes against the backdrop of the death of Vaishnavi Hagawane in Pune, allegedly due to dowry harassment. According to the police, Vaishnavi Hagawane allegedly died by suicide at her in-laws' house in the Pune district on May 16. Shinde said that after Hagawane's death, the entire state of Maharashtra was shaken. 'From now on, every daughter-in-law of Maharashtra is my beloved sister. The campaign will kick start from Anand Ashram in Thane, and will be expanded across the state through the Sena shakhas. Every Sena shakha will now be the first maternal home for our beloved daughters-in-law who are facing dowry-related harassment. Our Mahila Aghadi will ensure those who harass our sisters are dealt with firmly,' Shinde said. He said that to prevent dowry-related deaths, the Sena's women's wing will reach every corner of Maharashtra, and fight for the rights of women who are being harassed for dowry. It will provide legal support, drive public awareness, and deliver justice for dowry‑harassed women. The NCP (SP), led by party MP Supriya Sule, has also launched a statewide anti‑dowry campaign called 'Dowry‑Free, Violence‑Free Maharashtra.' It's set to begin Sunday, June 22, and run for a full year, aiming to cultivate cross-party unity and lasting awareness against dowry and harassment of women.
India Today
12-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
How a young bride's death mobilised Maratha groups against dowry, lavish weddings
The death by suicide of a 23-year-old woman in Pune due to alleged harassment for dowry by her in-laws and husband has spurred members of the Maratha community to launch a social campaign against dowry May, Vaishnavi Hagawane died by suicide at Bavdhan in Pune due to alleged harassment and torture for dowry. Members of the family, including her father-in-law Rajendra Hagawane, mother-in-law Lata, husband Shashank, brother-in-law Sushil and sister-in-law Karishma, have been was a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. He has since been expelled from the party. Vaishnavi's parents have charged that their daughter was tortured and beaten up for money by the Hagawanes. They claimed Vaishnavi's in-laws had been given a Toyota Fortuner SUV, cash and gold at the time of the marriage.A series of meetings across Maharashtra, led by members of the Maratha community, have called for an end to ostentatious expenditure during weddings as well as dowry harassment. Senior leaders of the community said the trend of spending lavishly on weddings and gifts had begun a few years ago from rapidly urbanising Pimpri-Chinchwad adjoining Pune, where farmers made crores of rupees by selling their lands to builders and developers. Some of these weddings have a guest-list running into thousands, with a lavish menu, expensive decorations and Rajendra Kondhare of the Akhil Bharatiya Maratha Mahasangh, who is involved in the effort, said the guidelines include not giving expensive gifts at the wedding, saving on expenses, ensuring that the marriage rites take place on time, and not giving speeches at the wedding. Families have also been asked to ensure that the number of guests is 500 or less. 'In case of dowry harassment or dowry-related deaths in a family, members of the community will stop 'roti-beti vyawhar' with them (take to social boycott),' explained Kondhare.'It is those from the middle-class and the neo-rich category who are into this. They try to compete with those above them in the social and economic order and splurge money on weddings. They are also cagey about what society will say about them in case they conduct these ceremonies in a frugal manner,' he in this regard have been held in areas like Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik and Parbhani. Kondhare said that members of other communities, such as Gujaratis, Marwaris, and Kumbhars, had also attended these meetings, which have seen presence of politicians and leaders from across party lines and from social organisations like the Maratha Mahasangh and Sambhaji Brigade. Decisions have also been taking on the families of the bride and the bridegroom sharing the expenses between Shitole, former NCP corporator from Pimpri-Chinchwad, said they wanted to promote less expensive marriages. 'The financial capacity of families differs and so, some are compelled to draw loans for marriages. They feel if they do not conduct their marriage in a lavish manner, they will be criticised by society,' he explained. 'The families can keep a fixed deposit in the name of the daughter, or donate to institutions or the deserving,' added to India Today Magazine
Indian Express
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Pune: Mangalmukhi Kinnar Charitable Trust to hold unity march for transgender community tomorrow
The Mangalmukhi Kinnar Charitable Trust, which traditionally works with the hijra community, would take out its first-ever transgender rally in Pune on Sunday to highlight the need for staying united and raising a voice against social evil. Issues like the dowry death of Vaishnavi Hagawane, discrimination against the transgender community, etc, the trust said, would be highlighted during the march. The rally, termed the Ekta Rally or Rally for Unity, stands out as this would be the first time the trust is coming on the road. It will start from Ganesh Peth in Pune at 3 pm and end near Shaniwarwada. The Mangalmukhi Kinnar Charitable Trust said in a statement that the main reason for the rally was to highlight the need for unity in times of distress. 'The hijra community has no divisions on the basis of caste or religion. Ours is a support system-based society. But the present divisive atmosphere in the larger society has affected us too. Our march is to lay stress on the unity of the nation, and we would also call upon others to do so,' the Trust said. On the need for conducting the rally, the Trust's spokesperson said the community felt it was fit to come on the roads in June, being Pride Month, to call for unity and raise awareness about various issues affecting the community at large. The Mangalmukhi Kinnar Charitable Trust is managed and run by the hijra community. It runs various organisations and undertakes welfare activities for the community at large. The affairs of the hijra community are conducted as per traditions and have a 'Guru Chela format', where the inmates are raised and guided through various art forms under the tutelage of a teacher. Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More
News18
04-06-2025
- General
- News18
हगवणे प्रकरणातील सुपेकर आणि वाल्मिक कराडचं काय कनेक्शन?
Vaishnavi Hagawane Breaking | हगवणे प्रकरणातील सुपेकर आणि वाल्मिक कराडचं काय कनेक्शन? Lokmat is one of the leading YouTube News channels which delivers news from across Maharashtra, India and the world 24x7 in Marathi. Stay updated on all the current events shaping Maharashtra's political landscape,...
Hindustan Times
03-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
How a dowry death case in Pune has led to code for simple weddings in Maratha community
In the wake of Vaishnavi Hagawane's suicide, allegedly driven by demands of dowry by her marital family, members of the Maratha community converged at Ahilyanagar on Sunday to introspect and draw up a code of conduct to curb extravagant weddings, in the hope that such a societal pressure might help curb harassment of women. The meeting was chaired by Haribhakt Parayan Badrinath Maharaj Tanpure, a kirtankar of the Warkari tradition who belongs to a family of preachers known to advocate social equality. Over time he has earned recognition and lakhs of followers, and is known as a socially conscious kirtankar of the Warkari tradition, thanks to his progressive ideology. On May 19, after 23-year-old Vaishnavi was found dead at her marital home in Bavdhan, Pune, her father, Anil Kaspate, in an FIR filed at Bavdhan police station alleged that at her in-laws were pressuring them for a Toyota Fortuner, after the family had given them gifts in gold and silver. Vaishnavi's suicide created such a storm that her father-in-law, Rajendra Hagawane, an NCP leader, was expelled from the party, following which police arrested multiple members of the family, including Hagawane and Vaishnavi's husband, Shashank. Both the Hagawanes and Kaspates are Marathas. At the meeting in Ahilyanagar, participants condemned the dowry system and proposed an 11-point wedding code of conduct. Among the resolutions were: avoiding lavish weddings with no pre-wedding shoots, limiting the guest list to 100-200 people and using traditional musicians instead of DJs. Crucially, the community resolved to boycott weddings where pre-wedding photo or video shoots are displayed during ceremonies. 'Dowry must be avoided and the money should instead be kept as a fixed deposit in the girl's name,' the participants suggested. B Dhumal, an author and entrepreneur, who participated in the meeting, said: 'This incident has awakened the entire community. We deliberated over the issue and came up with suggestions. After compiling them, we have drawn up a code of conduct for weddings in the community.' Others who participated in the meeting include NCP MLA Chetan Tupe, former mayors of Pune Ankush Kakde and Rajlaxmi Bhosale, former corporator Shrikant Shirole, and Maratha activist Rajendra Kondhare. Shirole said, 'Middle class families often emulate the rich and get trapped in loans and thereby incur stress.' Bhosale added, 'Daughters-in-law must know that they will be supported by their families if they are harassed.' Members of the committee have now decided to visit different localities to spread awareness, 'as the community needs to adopt change on its own,' said Tanpure. But will the community follow a code that lacks legal backing? 'A large part of the community is not economically well off – for them this code will be convenient. As for the rich, if the poor decide not to support them, they will have to fall in line eventually,' said Dhumal. Sakal Maratha Samaj convenor Chandrakant Gade Patil, also a participant of the meeting, added, 'It is possible to hold weddings on a small scale once social pressure builds. During COVID-19, many did it successfully.' Marathas comprise over 30 per cent of the state's population. The community is also politically active with most public representatives including MLAs and MPs emerging from here. Over the past few years, the economically influential and politically connected community members have seen organising big fat weddings, attended by thousands. Earlier, on May 26, prominent Maratha families and political leaders convened in Pune to express concern over the culture of extravagant weddings, especially when coupled with demands for dowry. Reflecting on the way forward, Pune Congress chief Arvind Shinde said, 'The community has resolved to socially boycott families who harass their daughters-in-law. No one will marry into such families.' It now remains to be seen if this momentum for reform will sustain.
