CHANDIGARH, MARCH 19, 2004
ANI

Girls marrying youths settled abroad and later being cruelly deserted by them, has become a frequent phenomenon now, especially in the villages of Punjab .

So much so that the issue now touches the headlines. A group of thus affected women recently moved government authorities in the capital for action. The stories they have to relate speak of the cruelty of fate indeed.

Jaswant Kaur's wedding to Surinder Singh in March last year was supposed to the confirmed passport to a dream world for her-to go abroad, be looked upon as an NRI sending home money. Fate, though, threw at her this vicious nightmare. Perhaps deliberately, big promises came to nought and she fights on.

"He used to come every year and promise that he would take me with him. Once I even got an interview call from the embassy. But my case was refused because my husband didn't have a job, and I had no proof of my marriage to him. Later too, he promised several times but they were all lies," Jaswant relates.

"Once he came after 2 1/2 years and asked for Rs 8 lakhs saying he would take me through a private agent. My parents had already given a huge amount on my marriage and subsequently too, and they couldn't afford more. We finally decided to lodge a case in the Patiala court. But little action has taken place. I remain where I was."

Another of over a thousand of victims in Punjab state alone. A seven-month pregnant Virpal Kaur faces an uncertain future, as despite several attempts at reconciliation she stands abandoned and alone.

For an Indian girl's psyche, it is life dying a slow, painful death.

"I was married on Feb 26, 2002 to Napinder Singh. He left the same day. I went there on 11th September. There, after the first couple of months, he started torturing me mentally and I was brought to India on the pretext that my sister was ill. There was no such thing. My mother retired on March 30. He put forward a demand for money to arrange for my immigration. Then he just left. I don't know where he has gone," says Virpal Kaur.

Some of these women, married for the last 20 years and more, have never lived with husbands for more than a fortnight at a stretch.

Some of them under a collective forum gathered to petition their cause to the government - asking that the guilty be brought to book before they ruin other lives, just as theirs have been.

The system itself requires a re-look to stem the evil. B S Ramoowalia, a former Member of Parliament and social worker has been lobby hard for the cause of these young girls. He puts forward calls for formal legislation and laws check the menace.

"Give every girl the right that if within 30 days of marriage her husband doesn't send all required documents, or that if she suspects mal-intentions, she may file and FIR, and no police station inspector can refuse it.

"Secondly, the girl should have all rights and control over half the assets and property of the boy in the country. They can't be sold without her consent.

"Third, immediately after marriage, the girl's photograph and details should be appended to boy's passport. "And fourth, it is up to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to take steps to seize the passports of those who commit this dastardly deed."

Most often, the youth to blame get out because of loopholes in the system and procedures of law, wherein the buck for their arrest is passed on from this country to that, and justice fails.

The evil has assumed the spectre of organised crime and speedy measures are required to stamp it down.