Tradition or Tyranny? The Dark Reality of India's Polyandrous Marriages

What started as a viral feel-good story of love and tradition has unraveled into a disturbing exposé on coercion, exploitation, and the systematic abuse of women under the guise of an ancient practice. The widely publicized wedding of Sunita Chauhan to brothers Pradeep and Kapil Negi was lauded by many as a proud cultural display. However, a deeper investigation reveals a grim reality where women are reduced to property and forced into harrowing arrangements to preserve land and family wealth. This isn't a story of love; it's a cautionary tale of a decaying tradition clinging to survival at a woman's expense.

The Unspoken Truths of Jodidara

While Pradeep and Kapil proudly showcased their union to the media, their carefully curated narrative omitted the dark undercurrents that plague this tradition. The claim of a "joint decision" and "transparency" is a stark contrast to the personal accounts of women who have been trapped in similar arrangements. Sunita Chauhan's public statement that she wasn't "coerced" is a chilling echo of the denials often made by victims of pressure and manipulation. A woman in her sixties, speaking anonymously, revealed that she was "compelled" into a polyandrous marriage and told to either "follow the norm or leave." She was a victim of what she called "pressure," a euphemism for the lack of any real choice. This sheds a harsh light on the reality: women are forced into sexual relationships with multiple men, and their consent is merely a facade.

A System Built on Female Subjugation and Child Exploitation

The narrative of Jodidara as a pragmatic solution to property disputes masks its true nature: a patriarchal system designed to control land by controlling women. The practice turns a woman into a shared commodity, her body and reproductive capacity serving to keep a family's land holdings intact. This horrifying commodification is further exposed by the prevalence of child marriage within the tradition. Farmer Munna Singh Chauhan's shocking admission that he was married off at "two or three years old" and his younger brother was promised to the same wife before he was even born highlights the horrifying reality of a practice that begins by destroying a child's future. The justification for such a barbaric act—that it was done to ensure labor and land wouldn't be divided—paints a clear picture of how this tradition prioritizes property over people.

The Pervasive Silence and Decay of a Tradition

While some villagers like Susheel Tomar claim the system works through "understanding," the accounts of those who have suffered tell a different story. Kalyan Singh Negi, a resident who broke free from a Jodidara marriage, vaguely attributed its failure to "just because of love only," hinting at the emotional and relational turmoil that is actively suppressed.  The very elements celebrated in the initial news story—the isolation and mountainous terrain—are the same factors that allow this system of control to persist, away from the scrutiny of a modern society. With shrinking landholdings, rising education levels, and urban migration, this tradition is in decline. It's a dying custom, but its final throes continue to inflict pain and misery on those caught in its web, particularly the women and children who are its most vulnerable victims. The tragic reality is that while some elders may want to "spread this practice," it's a dying relic of a past that has no place in a world where human rights and personal autonomy should be paramount.