Burning Surpanakha’s effigy at Karoli village in Aurangabad. (Source: Patni Pidit Purush Sanghatana Facebook page) Burning Surpanakha’s effigy at Karoli village in Aurangabad. (Source: Patni Pidit Purush Sanghatana Facebook page)

Burning effigies of Ravana is a common practice on Dussehra, but some “harassed” husbands in Aurangabad celebrated the festival in a slightly different way – by burning an effigy of Surpanakha, sister of the mythical multi-headed demon king. These men — members of ‘Patni Pidit Purush Sanghatana’, an organisation of victims of harassment by wives — burned the effigy on Thursday evening at Karoli village near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

Talking to PTI, founder of the organisation Bharat Phulare said, “All the laws in India are against men and favour women. They are misusing it to harass their husbands and in-laws over petty issues. We condemn this tyranny against men in the nation. In a symbolic move, our organisation burnt an effigy of Surpanakha on the occasion of Dussehra last evening,” he said.

As per Hindu mythology, Suparnakha was the root cause behind the battle between Ravana and Rama. In order to avenge the insult of Surpanakha, Ravana disguised himself as a sage and kidnapped Sita, which ultimately led to the war.

Phulare claimed that as per the 2015 records, of the total number of married people who committed suicide in the country, 74 per cent were men. Some members of the organisation also raised questions over the ongoing #MeToo movement.

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