Madhya Pradesh Panchayati Raj Minister has found the panacea for wives grappling with the alcoholic husbands. Gopal Bhargava, reportedly gifted mogri or wooden bats, which is traditionally used to wash clothes, to nearly 700 brides at a mass marriage ceremony in Madhya Pradesh. He permitted them to make use of that mogri whenever their husbands do not listen to them.
The caption on the bats reads,"sharabiyon ke sutara hetu bhent, police nahi bolegi", which roughly translates to 'gift for beating drunkards, police will not intervene' in English.
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Talking about the plight of women having alcoholic husbands, Bhargava told PTI, "Whenever I visit any rural or urban area in my constituency, women complain about their husband's drinking habit. They inform me that whatever little they earn is snatched away by their husband for alcohol. They (women) are also subjected to physical violence."
He further added that the idea of gifting mogri at weddings struck him when a woman asked him whether she should get her husband to stop drinking by beating him with this wooden bat.
Calling alcoholism a menace, he feels that gifting those wooden bats is an important step towards bringing social change.
Reiterating his faith in mass movements, he tells PTI that the government or police alone would not be able to solve this problem. For this, people have to come forward and be involved. There are many examples in history, which show that when masses intervene, things have changed for the better.
He is also in favour of sensitising the masses against the use of liquor before banning its sale altogether.
Besides keeping their alcoholic husbands in check, the minister also urged the brides to grow saplings and impart good education to their children.
Image credits: NDTV
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