There was shock and then awe as passersby watched about a hundred young men, dressed as grooms, danced merrily and sang parodies of popular hits.
Le jayenge, le jayenge, ladki wale loot ke le jayenge and Tauba tera jalwa, tauba tera pyaar, tera kanooni atyachar echoed in the air and the accompanying band played along. This was no precession for a mass marriage but a statement against harried grooms who were being victimised under the Dowry Act provisions.
Organised under the banner of “Army Against Dowry Act Misuse in India (AADMI)”, the “grooms” made an unusual protest against the amendment in the Marriage Act.
“Everyone speaks against dowry and the media sympathises with the women without even bothering to check whether allegations of dowry harassment are true or false. The men are being increasingly victimised under his act by unscrupulous women who threaten to book the husband under dowry act if he does not comply with their demands,” said Umesh Shukla, one of the grooms in the procession.
AADMI plans to hold a bigger demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on August 18 in which other men’s organisations from across the country will join them. They will also submit a memorandum to UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and as him to mount pressure on the Central government in this regard.
Some of the demands in the AADMI charter include inclusion of wife’s ancestral property at the time of division of property during divorce, both husband and wife should have the right to oppose a divorce petition, property issues should not be a part of marriage and divorce and a National Men’s Commission should be set up on the lines of the National Women’s Commission.
“A lot of people tend to laugh when we tell them about harassment by women but the fact is that several women take advantage of this mindset and harass the men. I have been a victim because my wife clearly told me that she was forced into marriage with me by her parents but she was not keen on living with me. She told me that if I did not give her `10 lakhs, she would inflict wounds on herself and accuse me of demanding dowry and domestic violence. I had to sell my ancestral house to fulfil her demands and banish her form my life. Later, she used the money to a buy a house for her boyfriend and herself,” said one such harassed groom who did not wish to be named.