Several party colleagues of Thaawarchand Gehlot expressed support for his decision, saying it was a step in the right direction to discourage the ‘evil of lavish weddings’ that have emerged as a status symbol.
New Delhi: Union minister Thaawarchand Gehlot wants to take a stand against the ever-bigger and ever-fatter Indian weddings, and he knows just how to do it.
Having discussed the option with his family and secured their approval, the social justice and empowerment minister will get his grandsons Manish and Devendra married at mass weddings this month.
Mass weddings in India typically mean a joint ceremony that brings together tens, at times hundreds, of financially underprivileged couples to tie the knot at once.
On 18 April, Manish, a law graduate, will tie the knot at a mass wedding in Nagda, Madhya Pradesh, while Devendra will get married at another in Taal on 29 April. Each of the ceremonies will involve 125 couples.
Sources close to the minister said he had invited his fellow ministers as well as BJP leaders, and the confirmations were expected in a day or two. “Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will be attending the ceremony, as will Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan,” a source added.
Talking about his decision, Gehlot said “we must stop splurging on weddings”. “This… puts pressure on those who cannot afford lavish weddings. Mass weddings will bring equality and harmony in society,” he added.
He said that it wouldn’t do to just pay lip service to the cause, adding that leaders ought to lead by example. “And that is why I have taken this decision…,” he said.
Several party colleagues of Gehlot expressed support for his decision, saying it was a step in the right direction to discourage the “evil of lavish weddings” that have emerged as a status symbol.