Unmarried rural youth in Maharashtra plan Statewide stir for govt. help in getting brides

Kisan Nanaware (28), who held a dharna demanding bride at the District Collector’s office in September, now plans to build a network of unmarried rural youth to protest against State apathy to their plight. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

It is not the inflation, unemployment, deletion of names from the voters’ list or corruption that is simmering in rural Maharashtra youth who are gearing up for an agitation. Unlike other Gen Z across India, these youth have an unusual demand – get us brides to marry.

“We are planning not only a Statewide but a nationwide network of boys who are not getting brides to marry and plan a massive agitation,” Kisan Nanaware, a 28-year-old youth from Solapur, told The Hindu.

Mr. Nanaware came into the limelight after he held a dharna demanding bride at the District Collector’s office in September. He fears he may suffer the same fate as thousands of men in rural Solapur in western Maharashtra, pointing out that the issue stretches far beyond men in their early 30s, with some in their 40s and 50s having given up hope of finding a partner.

Youth such as Mr. Nanaware argue that the State must issue an official resolution detailing steps to assist those who are unmarried. Their core demands include setting up an all-religion marriage registration bureau under the Social Welfare Department, providing direct financial assistance, creating steady rural employment, and guaranteeing remunerative prices for farm produce. He warns that if authorities fail to act, the movement could take an aggressive turn.

The politicians who have been facing various kinds of agitations are now facing heat of the unmarried youth.