2 Himachal brothers marry same woman: What is polyandry? Is it legal?

A woman in Himachal Pradesh has married two brothers of the Hatti tribe. Sunita Chauhan has tied the knot with Pradeep and Kapil Negi of the Shillai village in the Sirmaur district.

Celebrating the centuries-old tradition of polyandry, the two brothers and the woman publicly held the nuptials. The trio say they have willingly entered the alliance.

Let’s take a closer look.

What is polyandry?

Polyandry refers to the practice of having more than one husband at a time. The custom, known as “Jodidara” in Himachal Pradesh, is followed by the Hattis and some other communities in the lower Himalayas.

The practice is also called ‘Draupadi Pratha’ after the Mahabharat’s Draupadi, who married five brothers – the Pandavas.

Besides villages in the Trans Giri area, the tradition is prevalent in Jaunsar Babar, a tribal area of Uttarakhand and Kinnaur, a tribal district in HP.

Two brothers marry same woman in Himachal

The wedding of two brothers with the same woman in Himachal Pradesh ’s Trans-Giri area of Sirmaur district has caught national attention.

While it is not an unusual affair for the locals, the custom of polyandry among the Hatti tribe has surprised many across the country.

Grooms Pradeep Negi and Kapil Negi of Shillai village married their bride, Sunita Chauhan, a woman from the nearby Kunhat village, in a ceremony that kicked off on July 12 and lasted for three days in the Trans-Giri area, as per a PTI report.

Videos from the ceremony, being celebrated with local folk songs and dances, have gone viral on social media. Hundreds of villagers and relatives from nearby regions were part of the celebrations.

Pradeep works for the Jal Shakti Department, while his younger brother, Kapil, is employed abroad in the hospitality sector.

“This was our joint decision, it’s a matter of trust, care and shared responsibility. We followed our tradition openly because we’re proud of our roots,” Pradeep told The Tribune.

“We’ve always believed in transparency. I may live abroad, but through this marriage, we’re ensuring support, stability and love for our wife as a united family,” Kapil said.

Sunita said she was aware of the tradition and decided to marry the brothers without any pressure. “This was my choice. I was never pressured. I know this tradition, and I chose it willingly. We have made this commitment together, and I believe in the bond we have formed,” she was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

How common is polyandry in Himachal?

The Hatti community, present in the Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand border, has been practising polyandry for centuries. It was declared a Scheduled Tribe three years ago.

Almost three lakh people belonging to the Hatti community live in about 450 villages in the Trans-Giri area of Sirmaur district.

Five cases of polyandry have been reported in Badhana village in Trans-Giri over the past six years, reported PTI.

Experts say the tradition of polyandry started as a bid to avoid the division of ancestral land, to ensure no woman remained widowed and to maintain unity in families.

Sometimes, women are “expected” to take the brother of the man they married as their husband due to a lack of resources. A woman in Jamna village of Sirmaur was told by her husband to tie the knot with his brother when he grew of age.

The woman told India Today she used to pack her brother-in-law’s lunch when he was in school. She said there was abject poverty when she first came to her marital home 25 years ago.

“There was just one woollen sweater and one pair of slippers. So, my mother-in-law and I shared them. When a sweater and a pair of slippers were being shared, I obviously had to be shared,” the woman, now in her 40s, said.

ALSO READ: What is solo polyamory? How is it different from traditional polyamory?

Are such marriages legal?

Indian law does not permit polyandry. However, it allows for the protection of the customs and traditions of its many tribes.

The Hatti community is governed by the Hindu Marriage Act. As per NDTV, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has protected the custom of polyandry among the tribe under “Jodidar Law”.

Children born out of these “joint-marriages” are adopted under Wajib-ul-Arz, a record of customs and traditions within a village, which gives sanctity to"Jodidaran Prata".

“The name of the father gets into panchayat records through Wajib-ul-Arz, and that works for all official purposes,” Kundan Singh Shastri, general secretary of the Central Hatti Committee, told India Today last year.

With inputs from agencies