Battle of Generations: Kanjarbhat youths fight elders over ‘bloody’

In the battle between generations, young descendants of the Kanjarbhat community, a ‘vimukt jaati’ or de-notified tribe, have been battling their antecedents against the virginity tests the community is infamously known for.

Here is how the virginity tests are done: A white sheet is spread on the bed on the couple's first night, on which the elders (sometimes the whole community elders) wait to see if there are drops of blood on it.

The groom is asked degrading questions by the panchayat of elders. “How was the maal (the goods)?”, “Was the performance good?” or “Was the glass broken?” are the questions shot at the groom. His answers decide the fate of women in the community.

If blood is not drawn, the hymen is assumed ruptured due to previous sexual encounters. It is rare that a girl is then believed if she claims to have had no previous relationship and if the hymen has been ruptured out of natural causes.

Krishna Indrekar, now director of finance at the Maharashtra State Charities Commission, and his wife Aruna, were one of the first couples to openly defy the practice and tie the knot at a marriage registrar’s office in January 1996. The local caste panchayat immediately issued a written directive to all members to boycott the family.

Traditionally, weddings were consummated in a tent made of tarpaulin with Panchs or elders standing outside till intercourse was completed. "Today, this takes place in a sanitised hotel room after all glass bangles are removed from the bride, sharp objects from the room, and anything that is capable of piercing the skin and drawing blood. A white sheet is spread on the bed, after which the elders (now from the family) wait to see if there are drops of blood," informed Indrekar.

History repeated itself when Vivek Tamaichikar, a Master’s student at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, got engaged in 2016. Both are members of the Kanjarbhat tribe. When it hit the couple that the bride would be subject to the age-old practice of validating the marriage through a virginity test, they were up in arms.

Together they formed a group that holds multi-city meetings and galvanises youth to break away from the practice. While the young are eager for change, the old were shaken by their rebellion. “It is just the fear of the people from being ostracised from the community that gives elder people the power to perform such antics. But with some courage, we can change the tide and hopefully build a better perception

Some couples are up in arms over the age-old practice of the bride having to validate the marriage through a virginity test. Together they have formed a group that holds multi-city meetings and galvanises youth to break away from the practice. The youth feel that people's fear of being ostracised from the community gives elders the power to perform such antics. While the young are eager for change, the old were shaken by their rebellion.