New Delhi: Elders of the Thakor community in 12 villages of Gujarat’s Banaskantha district have issued a diktat banning inter-caste marriages and unmarried young women from carrying mobile phones, a move appreciated by a Congress MLA and prominent community leader of the region.

Almost 800 elders of the community “unanimously” adopted a resolution after a meeting on July 14, where they also decided on fining the parents of those who have married outside their caste.

The resolution, reported Indian Express, stipulated that if a Thakor girl marries a boy from another community, her family would now have to pay a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh. If a Thakor boy marries a girl from another community, the fine is Rs 2 lakh.

A Thakor leader was quoted by PTI as having said that in the course of the meeting, it was also decided that if unmarried women were “caught with mobile phones” then their parents will be held responsible.

Congress MLA from Vav, Geniben Thakor, said she saw nothing wrong in the move to ban mobile phones for girls. “They should stay away from the technology and spend more time studying,” she told reporters.

She justified the move to ban only girls from using mobile phones as it will “automatically” control boys. “Since girls are easily controlled because they stay with parents, it is right to ban (mobile phone use among) girls,” she told the Indian Express.

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Instead, the community will “offer tablets and laptops” so young girls can study better, said Suresh Thakor, a leader from Dantiwada.

“We have decided to prevent girls from using mobile phones so that they focus more on studies. The rule is valid for all college-going youth from the community as they use mobile phones to make videos and waste time,” Suresh added.

Other decisions

More decisions were taken in the meeting, including the reduction of “unnecessary” expenditure on marriage ceremonies by banning DJs, firecrackers and elaborate processions.

“The money saved from the practice will be used for the education of community members,” Suresh said.

Those flouting these rules have been threatened with legal action.

Alpesh calls for gender neutrality

MLA Alpesh Thakor, who is set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, said he welcomed the decisions that curtail unnecessary expenditure incurred on weddings so that more money can be spent on education.

“As far as using mobile phones is concerned, I would say this should be gender-neutral,” he added.

(With PTI inputs)