An 83-year old man in Rajasthan’s Karauli town got married to a 30-year old woman so that he could get a son who would take care of the ancestral property. The man named Sukram Bairava is already married and has two daughters who are also married. As Sukram and his wife Batto lost their only son to a critical disease, the two decided that the 83 year old should get married again to get a son from the second wife.
The wedding was arranged in Samrada village of the district and reportedly guests were invited from 12 adjoining villages. Not just the huge crowd of villagers but the entire family of Sukram, including his sons-in-law, was pretty excited for the wedding. It was indeed a bizarre marriage where a woman was married to a man more than double her age.
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The only reason for the marriage is to get a son who could take care of the ancestral property. Reportedly, Sukram and his wife own extensive lands in Rajasthan and a plot in Delhi. As they lost their son, they want another son who can take care of the property.
Besides the disturbing age gap between the bride and the groom, the marriage is also questionable as it’s against the law. Since the man is already married, law doesn’t allow him to get married twice and now he and his first wife can be charged for the crime.
Although the officials were not aware of the incident, the Additional District Magistrate Rajnarayan Sharma said that the matter will be probed and necessary action will be taken. Reportedly, a team including the Tehsildar, the block development officer, and the local station house officer has been directed to visit the location and probe into the matter.
In a society where we still struggle to attain gender equality, such incidents reflect the root cause of such issues. Not only the daughters are not given as much importance as the sons but also a woman is simply tied in a matrimonial bond to a man who is more than double his age solely to give birth to a boy. It’s disturbing and annoying on so many levels and in a way proves that no matter how much progress we make as a nation, we need to change ourselves as a society.
