The culture of forcefully making stranger men marry females is still prevalent in remote localities of Bihar.
‘Pakadua Vivah’: The controversial practice which has previously been called out by human rights activists, entails an unmarried girl’s families and relatives abducting and kidnapping young single men, forcing them into marriage with the female.
Recently the act was also caught on video and shared on social media, in which a man was seen being taken “into custody” and being made to marry a woman, he barely knew, at gunpoint.
The 22 year old man named – Guddu Kumar was visiting his supposed friend Ram Das, at Gaya’s Sarbahna village to deliver some fruits for Chhath Puja and was then asked to stay the night as it was getting late. He then woke up to the horror of being surrounded by a group of armed men, as Das forced Guddu to marry the former’s sister.
Watch the strange-practice caught-on-act below:
The odd culture started in Bihar back in the 70’s and rose to popularity in the 80’s and 90’s. But it still seems to be taking place at remote localities and villages of the state.
It would be difficult to break-down and understand the social construct that enables this practice and persuades people to take part in it, but whatever the case may be – it clearly is a case of human rights violation.
As for Guddu, the horrors of that night would continue to haunt him.