Forty family members of a woman's family had to shave their heads because she married a man from another caste in Odisha. This was part of a purification ritual. Owing to the inter-caste marriage, the family was ostracised and the family members had to shave their heads in order to be welcomed back into society. The incident has been reported from Baiganaguda village of Kashipur block in Rayagada district.
The woman belonging to a Scheduled Tribe (ST) community had recently married a man from a Scheduled Caste belonging to a nearby village.
The union triggered outrage from the villagers, with the family being shunned. The villagers reportedly insisted on a purification ceremony if the woman's family needed to be integrated into society again. If that was refused, the villagers threatened the family with an open-ended social boycott.
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Under pressure from the villagers, the family performed an animal sacrifice according to a ritual in front of the local god, and followed it up with a mass head-shaving ceremony. Only then were they granted re-acceptance by the community.
As the word spread, Kashipur Block Development Officer (BDO) Vijay Soy instructed a thorough investigation into the incident. A viral video of the family members sitting in the middle of a field with their heads shaved also made the rounds on social media.
An official at the block level has been dispatched to the village to probe the incident. The administration stated the proper action would be initiated based on the report.
Earlier this year, a family in Odisha was prevented from performing the last rites of a man who married a woman from a different caste in Bargarh district.
Odisha has an incentive scheme where the government gives a couple in an inter-caste marriage an incentive to get married and settle down. The government gives ₹2.5 lakh as financial assistance.
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