In this Maharashtra village of bachelors, the search for bride ends at orphanage

The Leva Patil community, another caste among Patidars, in a small district in Maharashtra is facing a peculiar problem; nearly half of the youngsters are over 30 years of age and unmarried, and the number of eligible men are much more than the prospective brides.

To stem the problem, the Leva Patil panchayat in the Bhusaval region in Jalgaon district have started accepting women from orphanages for their unmarried youths. To ensure social security of these women, the grooms have been asked to pledge 30 to 50% of their assets in the name of their would-be brides before the marriage is solemnised.

For the people of Bhorgaon Leva Patil community, finding the bride has been elusive for quite some time. This year, 625 men registered themselves for marriage against 190 women. For the last few years, there has been a wide gap between the number of brides and grooms.

With Panchayat’s new decision to accept the guardianship of the women from the orphanage, and marrying them off to the community men, this knotty issue will seem to get resolved. In the nearby Chalisgaon village, such marriages have already been arranged.

Pledge 30 to 50% of Assets to Bride

If the legal permission is granted, then the women of the orphanage could marry the youth of the Leva Patil community. Keep 30 to 50% of the groom’s assets for the bride has been thought of as a social security if there is a post-marriage acrimony. If this condition is fulfilled, only then the marriage could take place.

To implement this decision, a study is being held to understand the legal aspects of this kind of alliance, and collect data on such orphanages.

In May, the Leva Patil community members will travel to the orphanage in Wardha, Aurangabad and Rajasthan and discuss the issue with the heads of the institutions.