Lawmaker Ranjan said the Bill is aimed to prohibit extravagant and wasteful expenditure on marriages “Marriages have become more about showing off your wealth, as a result of which the poor feel that they are under social pressure to spend more.”
The Bill also seeks to put a limit on the number of guests one can invite and dishes that can be served in the wedding. The proposed legislation has evoked mixed response from the public and the media. While some called it a novel idea, others dismissed it as an undemocratic proposition.
I feel its a great idea. will help in the marriage of poor girls..https://t.co/gRv9neNNij
— Dev OM (@DevOM_TheLight) 16 февраля 2017 г.
Isn't less expenditure on wedding ceremonies means less income for people involved in the business.https://t.co/RxYz2z2qpH
— Raavan Mickey (@zealofsingh) 15 февраля 2017 г.
The move is understood to have been prompted by the US$ 100 million wedding of businessman-turned-politician G Janardhan Reddy's daughter. The wedding had garnered much public outrage for being inappropriate parade of wealth while the common man suffered unprecedented hardships due to the government’s currency swap scheme.
Income tax sleuths raid G Janardhan Reddy's firms following daughter's big fat Indian wedding https://t.co/74kO3VHt78 pic.twitter.com/GK2XG0tFZ9
— HuffPost India (@HuffPostIndia) 21 ноября 2016 г.
In India, wedding is always an extravagant affair both for the rich and the poor. While the affluent see it as an opportunity to flaunt their wealth, the less fortunate are under tremendous pressure to catch up as the kind of wedding a family hosts is directly co-related to the family’s honor. Much of the wedding’s expenditure is borne by the bride’s side; therefore, this usually results in families running into deep debt which in turn prompts sexual discrimination which manifests itself in the form of female feticide, infanticide, dowry harassment and honor killings.
