Bridal Trafficking in Assam, INDIA

Bridal Trafficking:

Tea Estate in Lakhimpur becomes hunting grounds for Rajasthan grooms:

Bridal trafficking is an abuse of women across the globe under the veil of marriage. Young women are deceived in the name of marriage and are taken away afar from their homes only to be abused as slaves throughout their lives. Bridal trafficking is thriving in India in states like Haryana and Rajasthan due to a declining girl child ratio. Assam is a potential destination to pick girl child as brides for the men in these states with ease. Such unusual cases have been occurring here in Lakhimpur district where many young girls are picked up by complete strangers coming as far as from Rajasthan.

Ram Prasad Barhoi, a primary school teacher from Koilamari Tea Estate in Lakhimpur district was met by one Anil Kumar alias Hiralal Agarwal, son of Sohan Lal Agarwal from Sikar district in Rajasthan in mid-2016 who asked to marry his granddaughter Rekha Tanti, a young school going girl. To get rid of the menace of his alcoholic son-in-law Sunu Tanti, Ram Prasad agreed to Anil’s solicitation to marry his granddaughter. Accordingly a marriage ceremony was performed in a local temple on 24th July, 2016 and a marriage agreement was signed between the two parties before a notary in North Lakhimpur on 25th July, 2016. After that Rekha was taken by Anil to his native village of Garuda, LaxmangarhTehsil under Nechchua Police Station of Sikar district in Rajasthan. Since then Rekha has not returned to her home in Koilamari Tea Estate in Lakhimpur district. She is living with her in-laws in the village as her husband Anil Kumar alias Hiralal Agarwal is working in Gujarat.

According to Rekha’s family members, the groom from Rajasthan was introduced to them by one Milki Khodal, daughter of Phulchand Khodal of No. 10 Labour Line of Koilamari Tea Estate. Milki too was married off to one Shrawan Kumar, son of Bhanwar Lal of Baniyon Ka Mohalla, village Garoda in Sikar district of Rajasthan two years ago. Another girl, Deepanjali from the same tea garden are also married to a man from Sikar district in Rajasthan.

One wonders here how young girls from a remote tea garden in Lakhimpur district are being matrimonially connected to a Rajasthan village thousands of miles away. This has allegedly been made possible by Hanuman Prajapati, a trader from Sikar, Rajasthan who runs a grocery store in Koilamari tea estate. According to the family members of Milky, Hanuman Prajapati brought Shrawan Kumar to the tea estate to marry her. Similarly Ram Prasad Barhoi says that Hiralal Agarwal, who married his granddaughter Rekha Tanti is a relative of an established businessman from Rajasthan based in North Lakhimpur town. That businessman, running a tractor dealership helped in arranging the marriage between Rekha and Hiralal, says Ram Prasad.

These long distance marriages have been going on in Koilamari Tea Estate of Lakhimpur district quite secretly taking advantage of the social exclusion and poverty of the tea garden worker community. Strangers from Rajasthan come one day and lure not only the girls but the entire community of the tea garden workers who have no idea of the geographical distance of the place where the bride will be send off. The community also has no idea about the differences in language, social set up, culture, food habit and terrain that their daughters would have to endure throughout their lives in Rajasthan. Noticeably, the grooms that are coming for their brides here are from upper caste communities in socially stratified Rajasthan and the girls they marry are Adivasi tribes. How these girls encounter the caste divide in their in-laws homes away in Rajasthan is a matter of concern here.

These long distance, inter-caste marriages are conducted so secretly is not convincing so far as the dignity of the women are concerned. As states like Rajasthan and Haryana has a very low record on women’s rights and dwindling girl child ratio, many here are of the apprehension of the condition of girls married off to those areas. The gender ratio in Rajasthan for children up to six yearsfell sharplyfrom 909 for every 1,000 boys in 2001 to 883 in 2011. The society is so cruel towards girls in Rajasthan that new born girl child are abandoned daily in the state. In India90%of the 11 million abandoned babies are girls. In Rajasthan,674 childrenwere abandoned between 2007 and 2011, second highest in the country.This prompted the Rajasthan government to introduce theAshray Palna Yojana project in the 2015-2016 to install cradles throughout the state - at all district hospitals, medical colleges, and satellite hospitals for the parents to anonymously leave their unwanted babies.

Thus for a traditionally gender insensitive state like Rajasthan the sending off of girls as brides from one of the most socially excluded parts of Assam is a matter of great concern. These girls too would be exposed to the gender biased practices of their respective husband’s homes causing great harm to their future. These secrete marriages are taking place in which the tea garden management, their welfare services and state law enforcing agencies seem indifferent. An awareness drive against these unethical and illegal activities is the need of the hour.