Why Haryana is arranging foreign brides for its bachelors

Bachelors in Haryana are paying the price for female feticide which has depleted the state's sex ratio beyond imagination.

Shortage of brides was a major election issue during the Assembly and Lok Sabha in Haryana. Politicians had even created a major controversy by saying that they will arrange brides from Bihar and West Bengal for the state's youth. Not able to find brides in the state, Haryana's men, besides finding brides in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, have also been "buying brides" from West Bengal and Bihar. Mail Today had recently traced a Kurukshetra resident - Joginder Singh - who had bought his wife for Rs 20,000 from West Bengal.

However, he is not the only person who was compelled to pay for a bride. The new generation of bachelors are thinking differently and have taken to the social media to find brides. Four Facebook users in Haryana have found their brides in America. Three of them got married recently.

Tamta Kuzanashvili of Georgia is perhaps the first American citizen who met her husband Arun Khatri of Kundli village in Sonipat district five years ago. They got married and three years ago gave birth to twin daughters. Adriana Peral (41) who belongs to Merced, California married Mukesh Kumar of Popran, Jind on November 13, 2013. Juna Poline (33) of California married Raju Pehalwan of Jind on May 3, 2015. The fourth American citizen Chanita Dovilla Robeson married a Kachva, Karnal boy Parveen Khankhar on July 10 recently.

Foreign brides have become the centre of attraction in Haryana. People queued up to get a glimpse of the brides as they entered the village. Unlike the common Haryana newly-wed brides, these American brides do not wear a veil and speak to villagers without any hesitation.

When we visited Chapra village in Jind, the newly-wed Juna Poline was seen wearing a pair of jeans and T-shirt. "Crowd follows the couple whenever they step out. Besides relatives, even people from nearby villages come to meet the bride. They are different from local brides and do not shy away from interacting with strangers," says Rajinder, Raju Pehalwan's elder brother.

One wonders why American women are sacrificing the lavish lifestyle and settling down in nondescript villages which are surrounded by stinking ponds, heaps of cow dung and overflowing ducts. Juna Poline and Chanita Dovilla Robeson told this reporter that they found Haryana men amazing and better than the American men in terms of loyalty. Other factors which they consider are the family values and the existence of the joint family system.

"Here in India, parents reside with their children and marriages last longer as compared to US where the alliances just lasts for a few months. Indian men are trustworthy and better life partners," Chanita Dovilla Robeson said. An interaction with two American brides revealed that their stay in Haryana may be temporary as their final destination is America. Men are eyeing both a foreigner and the citizenship. However, settling with Haryana's rural men may not be an easy task for these women who sacrificed their lavish lifestyles to get a partner of their choice.

"I had never imagined that I would be living in a place like this. It did bother me initially, but I forgot everything when the family accepted me and showered their love," Juna Poline said and added that she would return to America to earn money.

Adriana Peral, a Californian who married Mukesh Ror in November 2014, has already left and gave birth to a baby girl recently in California, her husband Mukesh is trying for an American visa. Chanita Dovilla Robeson who married Parveen Dhankar on July 10, 2015 will also return to America and plans to settle down with him there. Tamta Kuzanashvili of Georgia who married Arun Khatri of Kundli village of Sonipat five years ago have also left for Georgia alongwith their twin daughters Ana and Mariya. The message which these four American brides give is that they married the com-mon youths who belong to rural areas, have fewer resources and are unemployed. The caste, gotras and age was no bar when they tied the nuptial knot.