8 hours ago
Odisha: 40 family members forced to tonsure heads after inter-caste marriage
Forty members of a woman's family were forced to shave their heads as part of a purification ritual after she married a man from a different caste in Odisha. The family was ostracised due to the inter-caste marriage and was made to undergo the ritual to be accepted back into incident happened in Baiganaguda village of Kashipur block in Rayagada district. The woman, from a Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, married a man belonging to a Scheduled Caste from a neighbouring village recently. advertisementThe marriage sparked outrage among the villagers, who ostracised the family. The villagers allegedly demanded a purification ritual if the woman's family wanted to be accepted back into the community. If they refused to comply, the villagers warned the family of an indefinite social boycott.
Under pressure from the villagers, the family carried out an animal sacrifice as per a ritual before the local deity, followed by a mass head-shaving ceremony. Only after this were they assured re-acceptance by the the news spread, Kashipur Block Development Officer (BDO) Vijay Soy ordered a detailed probe into the matter. A video of the family members sitting in a field with their heads shaved has also gone viral on social media.A block-level official has been sent to the village to investigate the incident. The administration has said appropriate action would be taken based on the this year, a family in Odisha was not allowed to conduct the last rites of a man who married a woman from a separate caste in Bargarh has a scheme that provides an incentive to couples in an inter-caste marriage to settle down. The government offers financial assistance of Rs 2.5 Watch
