Anti-dowry drive: Sushil Modi sets example

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi. (PTI Photo)

Even as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has launched an awareness campaign against dowry, his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi has decided to set a personal example for the cause. The marriage of the Deputy Chief Minister’s elder son will be a simple event. And the invitation cards will declare: “no dowry is taken for this marriage”.

Sushil Modi’s son Utkarsh, who works with an MNC in Bengaluru, is getting married to Kolkata-based chartered accountant Yamini in Patna on December 3. There will be no band, baaja and baraat for the wedding. All invitees have been sent e-cards on WhatsApp and email. There are no printed invitations — even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been sent an e-invitation.

Sushil Modi told The Indian Express: “My marriage was also solemnised in the most austere manner. We will keep 1,500 chairs at the venue and invitees can see the two-hour marriage ceremony during the day. There will be no feast, guests will be offered only prasad.” The guests cannot be called baraat as there will be no lavish welcome, feast or dance or song, he added.

Asked about the “no-dowry” declaration on the invitation card, he said, “There had been a lot of discussion on it. It is a sort of declaration that no dowry has been taken. Let others also say it. If one has not taken dowry, there is no harm in saying so even though it may look a bit loud to some.” He said the Bihar government had launched anti-dowry and anti-child marriage campaigns, and it was fitting that he should try and set an example.