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Dowry System
Marriage is a very expensive affair in Rajasthan because
of the dowry system. The dowry is often unbearable burden on the parents
of the girl who have to pay a large sum to get their daughter married.
The parents of the girl are virtually ruined because they have to take
loans on exorbitant interest from money-lenders and to repay the loans
and the interest, they have to sell their property. During medieval times,
because of this evil system, many people killed their female offspring
as soon as they were born.
Divorce
Rajasthan can easily claim to be the most advanced state
in the country in the matter of divorce. In this state, divorce was permitted
when there was mal-adjustment, mutual antipathy, mental and physical disparity,
willful desertion, conviction for infamous crime, habitual drunkenness,
impotency and insanity. Divorce was fairly common among the lower castes
and also among the Rajputs. It was not permitted in the Brahmin and Vaishya
communities.
In Kota, divorce was common among the lower castes as
revealed from the records of the eighteenth century. Divorce was permitted
by law when the property which the wives had brought with them when they
got married was restored, and tax paid to the state.
Nata (Re-Marriage)
After divorce, one could marry again. In some castes
the Nata system is in vogue, especially among the Rajputs, Jats, Gujjars,
Meenas and Bhils. According to this system, a wife can divorce her husband
and live with another man of her choice as his wife, without going through
the formalities of a marriage. This system is very popular in the rural
areas because it does not entail any expenditure. This is marriage by
mutual consent without the pomp and show of marriage. A widow can also
live with a man as his wife without a formal wedding ceremony. This is
known as Nata in Rajasthan. |
