WUNRN
INDIA - LOCAL COUNCIL BANS CELL
PHONES FOR UNMARRIED WOMEN
AFP/File – Photo illustration. A local
council in northern
November 24,
2010
The Baliyan council in Uttar Pradesh state decided to act after at least 23 young couples ran away and got married over the last year against their parents' wishes.
"The panchayat (assembly) was convinced that the couples planned their elopement over their cell phones," village elder Jatin Raghuvanshi told the Calcutta Telegraph.
The rules of inter-caste marriages
are complicated and extremely rigid in many rural communities in
"All parents were told to ensure their unmarried daughters do not use
cell phones. The boys can do so, but only under their parents'
monitoring," said Satish Tyagi, a spokesman for the village assembly.
Caste discrimination
is banned in
Traditional Hindu society breaks down into brahmins (priests and scholars), kshatriya (soldiers), vaishya (merchants) and shudra (labourers). Below the caste system are the Dalits, formerly known as "Untouchables".
Caste categories often determine Indians' life prospects, and conservative families will only marry within their own caste sub-division.