Determination to ride a horse at wedding runs into bride’s age hurdle

KANPUR : A 25-year-old man’s determination to become the first Dalit person in his village in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh to ride a horse at his wedding has run into trouble with the police “finding out” that the would-be bride is a minor, a few months short of being a major.

Her Aadhaar card is said to mention her birth year as 2004, meaning she is 17.

Alakh Narayan’s decision to defy the “unspoken feudalistic rule” consolidated the Dalits in his favour and arrayed the other castes against him.

As of now, the marriage is in a limbo with the police making it clear it would not allow the wedding if the bride or the groom is not a major.

Alakh hasn’t taken a decision on calling off the marriage on the age issue but said he would abide by the law.

He had returned to his village Madhoganj in Mahoba last week from Delhi, where he works in a private firm, for the wedding.

His heart was set on riding a horse at the wedding as no Dalit man in his village had done so before. The wedding was scheduled on June 18 and the girl lived in another village Kotra, also in Mahoba.

In view of the caste polarisation that his decision set in motion with social media announcements, Alakh and his family asked for police protection. The groom sent out invites and one of them one is said to have reached Congress general secretary (UP incharge) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who sent a team which assured him that a horse would be arranged for him. Soon, the age issue surfaced. Additional superintendent of police (Mahoba) RK Gautam said the police department was seeking legal advice as per the Hindu Marriage Act and the Child Marriage Prevention Act and it would stop the marriage.

“Circle officer (Kulpahad) TB Singh is investigating the age-re

POLICE WERE SEEKING LEGAL ADVICE AND WOULD STOP THE MARRIAGE, SAID MAHOBA ASP

lated issue,” he said.

Alakh Narayan alleged a ploy behind the police move to prevent him from defying the ageold “practice” that a Dalit groom could not ride a horse.

“I have to come to know about this today. We are speaking to girl’s family on the issue,” he said, adding that the tradition was part of a feudalistic mindset.

The village pradhan (head) Mahipat Shrivas said it was true that no Dalit had ridden a horse in the village since independence.

“He (Alakh) has tried to make a beginning, it should be welcomed,” he said.

A family elder Deen Dayal, 71, said it had been an unspoken rule that Dalits could not take out their “baaraat” (marriage procession) on a horse like people of other castes could.

“I have not seen anyone from my community doing this. Alakh tried to change it and he faced resistance,” he said.

Deen Dayal and other family members went to the Mahobkanth police station last week, fearing an attack on the wedding procession.

After Alakh’s announcement, some other villagers had warned him not to change the tradition. But the police made it clear that they could not stop him from riding the horse, tradition or no tradition.

Apart from the team sent by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Bhim Army and other organisations fighting for Dalit rights have supported Alakh strongly.