'Won't marry a dark-skinned man': Bride ditches groom on wedding day for his skin colour

It is unfortunate but true that the colour of a person's skin plays an important role in how Indian society sees him or her. Usually, it is the womenfolk who face the brunt of this taboo, however, in a rare case, a bride in Uttar Pradesh ditched her dark-skinned groom at the last moment.

Maharajganj (UP):India, a country with a tropical climate and a population with high melanin index, is ironically obsessed with fair skin. Years of conditioning have made people associate success, happiness, beauty, and status with the colour of a person's skin

Usually, it is the womenfolk who face the brunt of this taboo, however, in a rare case, a bride in Uttar Pradesh ditched her groom at the last moment for he had a dark skin tone. The incident happened on December 8 in Paniyara police station area in Maharajganj district of the state.

The bride refused to marry after seeing the groom at the time of Jaimala (a ritual where both bride and groom garland each other). After the bride backed out, there was a stir in the wedding pandal. Shocked, the groom stayed where he was while his family members and relatives made every possible effort to convince the bride who said she was not ready. Shockingly, the baraathad to return without the bride.

Before her shocking decision, the bride, as it is obvious, must not have seen the groom. In fact, eyewitnesses said that after welcoming and felicitating the groom's party, the round of serving them food had also started. It was at this time, the groom sat in the program of jaimala. Shortly, the bride also arrived for the ritual.

However, as soon as the bride saw the groom's face, she immediately got down from the mandap and went to the house, and refused to marry. The bride said that she would not marry a dark-skinned person. Seeing the matter getting worse, the people of the village tried to explain a lot to her but she did not agree.

After this, the relatives informed the police about the matter. On receiving the information, the police brought the prominent people including the groom and the leader to Mujuri Chowki. The matter however remained unreconciled.