Tags:
Journalism of Courage
DEVIPUR (JOURIAN), MARCH 11: Just three days were left for Rita’s marriage when Pakistani guns started booming in the Gigriyal area. Her family, along with other families in the village, fled to safer areas. Her prospective in-laws, residing in Milan di Khui, another village on the International Border (IB), also suffered the same fate.
Today, both the families are residing in the same makeshift camp in Devipur, 35 kms from Jammu. Rita and her fiancee live, alongwith their respective families, in small tents. Marriage is out of the question; they have no place to go once they marry. Nearly 70 such persons of marriageable age are waiting for a better future, to get married. Lack of employment, income and space are the biggest stumbling blocks.
Sankho Devi, mother of three, residing in village Palanwala, was feeling overjoyed after receiving a marriage proposal for her 32-year-old daughter, Rani, from a youth of the same area. But, shelling shattered all her plans. A year has since passed, and Rani is yet to be married.
In both the cases, it was the lack of accommodation in the camps that prevented the weddings. More than 1,200 families living along the border, who had to abandon their homes following unabated shelling from across the border by Pakistani Rangers, are facing the same problem.
Putting up in small tents at a makeshift camp in Devipur, the inmates are witnessing a considerable fall in the number of marriages. Many marriages, which were all set to be solemnised, have been cancelled owing to the lack of proper accommodation. And, this has become a trend rather than the exception.
Not surprisingly, the parents are a much worried lot. "Before dying, I wanted to see the face of my grandson. But, living here in a camp, I don’t feel that dream will ever come true," said Laxmi Rani, an old lady.
Most youngsters are also not ready to take the plunge despite the cajoling of their parents. Rajesh, who has declined to marry even after much persuasion by his ageing parents, said, "whenever guests come to our place, some of us have to move out so that they can sit comfortably inside the tent. Under such circumstances, how can I get a bride?" Marriage will have to wait till he arranges living space for his future family.
With age catching up with them, their problems, instead of being solved, are increasing with each passing day. Two of the very few marriages that have so far been solemnised in the past six months in the camp, have proved to be complete disasters. Reason: The couples could not lead the type of life they had dreamt of while tying the nuptial knot.
"It was very difficult to live in a tent with nine others. Moreover, the size of the tent is not such that partition is an option," one of the bridegrooms said. The male members, including the newly-weds, even after working overtime in brick kilns, do not earn enough to rent a single room where they can enjoy their married life.
Unemployment is the other main problem that the youth are confronting. They don’t have the kind of livelihood they were so used to in their villages. The jobless have no other option but to refrain from getting married.
This trend has triggered emotional debates among the inhabitants of the tents. They apprehend that the present social problem will persist for another couple of years.
Sitting outside a tent is Santokh Devi, mother of three young girls, all of marriageable age. She cannot find words to explain her dilemma. "I don’t know when things will return to normal. Who will marry my daughters if the present crisis lingers on for another few years?" she rues.
