‘Herwad 1st village to ban widowhood rituals’
Activist Pramod Jhinjade speaks exclusively to the FPJ; says he has set his eyes on other countries
Social activist Pramod Jhinjade, the chief functionary of Mahatma Phule Samaj Seva Mandal, is persevering to make his dream of abolishing widowhood rituals a reality. recently as a guest at the Free Press Journal offices, he spoke about how Maharashtra took the lead with Herwad village in Shirol tehsil and historic Mangaon in Hatkanangle tehsil in Kolhapur district being the first to pass the resolution to ban widow rituals at gram sabhas on the occasion of Maharashtra Day (May 1).
“It’s not just a Hindu ritual; my research reveals that all religions have such practices. In fact, apart from India, Africa and China are also gripped by widow rituals which are much more horrific. My ultimate aim is to have a proper law that prohibits such rituals, following which I will turn my focus on eradicating it globally,” he said.
Despite lacking background of social work or politics, Jhinjade dived into the issue head on in 2020 after the cremation of a fellow worker. “I heard some clamour among the women and thought there was some dispute. I saw a group breaking the bangles of the man’s widow, wiping her bindi and snatching her mangalsutra,” he recalled, adding that she wept, pleaded, and kept saying she wanted to have all of that as a memory of her husband.
“Everyone was crying, but no one took a step to stop what was happening,” he said, adding that he then decided to not let his wife suffer after his passing. “Amid great opposition, I got an affidavit filed, which calls for an action if anyone tries to pressure my wife to follow any ritual after I die,” he said.
The activist said that Maharashtra is home to legends like Mahatma Jotoba Phule and Anandibai Joshi. “The idea of reforms is not new to Maharashtra. I roped in all the village leaders and patiently kept spreading the word. I got a tremendous response. It all started with allowing and inviting widows to hoist flag on Independence Day or participate in Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations,” he said, adding that he faced opposition and threats but he remained firm.
“It’s a privilege to wear jewellery. It’s a privilege to some day decide to not wear jewellery at all. Many of us living in metro cities have no idea what women in some pockets of the country go through. We can’t relate to a situation in which someone else is deciding our routine attire. We cannot relate to facing dire consequences for not following the protocols decided by others,” he said.
Speaking about Maharashtra, as per rituals designed by upper-caste Hindu customs, a widow is expected to be immediately physically detached from the world and is socially ostracised. In olden days, she would be often referred to as ‘Tambdi baai’ in some parts of the state, and locked in a room, where she would be left all alone to cook for herself, eat and sleep. Jhinjade said, “A new law banning such practices is the only solution that will bring true results.”