DEADLY US DREAMS

Grooms have to pay dowry to NRI girls

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01.02.2022

Neelam Patel, a resident of Karjisan village in Kadi taluka of Mehsana district. added, “The expenditure depends on the route taken to the US. The dowry is higher if the woman has entered the US  through Canada, and lesser if she has taken the Mexico route. ”

As per estimate, the sex ratio in the Patel community is 650 to 700 females as against 1,000 males.

Arpit Patel,a residentof Kalol, said that the lack of resources in the state has forced residents of the 42 Gaam Patidar Samaj to immigrate to the US or Canada through any means possible.

“The trend of settling in the US has been increasing among community members over the past 10 years. Mainly landowners or farmers, themen are facing trouble because land parcels are shrinking and there are not many job opportuni- ties for us. So, parents look for a suitable boy from the US or Canada. While NRI families pay dowry in lakhs if the girl is already settled in these countries,even if it is through illegal means,” said Arpit.

A suitable boy? Only if you are an NRI

Girls From 42 Gaam Patidar Samaj Prefer NRI Boys

Ahmedabad: When a man enters the marriage market, he faces inquiries about his house, job, and salary. But anyone looking to marry a girl from the ‘42 Gaam Patidar Samaj’ usually needs to answer one more question: “Do you or your relatives live in the US, or at least Ca- nada?” If the answer is no, then his chances of making the match plummets. 

The skewed sex ratio and ambition to get a life partner settled abroad has led to the emergence of two new trends among this sub-sect of the Patidar community which comprises of people from 42 villages in Gandhinagar and Mehsana districts. While women prefer to marry men with NRI status, the men who are already settled in the US are paying ‘dowry’ to girls settled in the US. This usually includes the expenditure incurred by the girl’s family to help her im- migrate illegally.

One of these villages is Dingucha, a village in Kalol taluka of Gandhinagar which recently came into limelight after a family of four from the village froze to death while trying to illegally cross into the US from Canada.

Bhavin Patel, a resident of Dingucha, said, “In my com- nity, if a man has not gone to the US nor has any relative abroad, then it becomes difficult for him to find a match. There are many men who have remained unmarried because they had no way of settling in the US. This is one of the reasons that some men go to the US through dangerous, illegal routes.”

According to members of the 42 Gaam Patidar Samaj, the parents of NRI men living in the US or Canada also desperately seek women who are already in the US or Canada. “We prefer to marry within the  community, but we are plagued by skewed sex ratio. This combined with the need for a partner already settled abroad means that the prospective groom’s family is ready to pay ‘dowry’ to cover the money spent by the girl’s family to send her abroad illegally. This can range anywhere between Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh,” said Neelam Patel, a resident of Karjisan village in Kadi taluka of Mehsana district.