A Brave Face on Satyamev Jayate

Immense respect for Aamir Khan for taking on core social issues that plague India. I agree with Mausim Ummedi of Burhanpur – by removing societal pressure of having a big Indian wedding off the minds of families across social stratas, things will get incredibly easier for newlyweds to enter into wedlock. Our thinking needs to change to allow them to start their lives without the overarching feeling that they must have a lavish wedding first. This could in turn reduce dowry related abuse and definitely eliminate unnecessary debt – debt that is absolutely inessential in middle-class lives.

It isn’t enough to simply talk about dowry related abuse. Aamir also highlighted ‘fearless’ Nadia’s (Rani Tripathi) sting to expose the parents of a boy who were pressurizing Rani’s father into giving dowry in the form of cash and a car. Rani convinced her brother and father to video tape and display the boys parents’ demands. To me, she demonstrated our inherent but rare human potential to rise up and butt heads with whatever the challenge might be.

Perhaps in the not too distant future, parents in India will realize that weddings are an opportunity to bring together two lives and impart a running start to their kids. Not just to invite everyone and anyone who’s weddings they have attended in the past. A lavish wedding that aligns with their society’s, or community’s requirements should be the last things on their minds.