In an unusual call following threat from community panchayats, people with Jain, Gujarati and Sindhi identity have banned photography in their pre-wedding ceremonies in Bhopal. These social events will no longer be videographed or photographed in the Madhya Pradesh capital.

This follows a diktat issued by panchayats of the three communities with a veiled threat of boycotting those who do not adhere to the diktat. The Jain community panchayat has even banned participation of male choreographers in wedding events.

According to Sanjay Patel, who identified himself as the president of Bhopal Gujarat Community and national secretary of the same organisation, a circular banning pre-wedding photo and video-shoots and entry of male choreographers in ladies sangeet during and before weddings has been issued.

"The community has decided to ban these activities as it has been felt that many marriages break even before they take off. It is a collective decision and those who will not adhere to this will be ostracised from the community," Patel said.

The Sindhi community, too, has claimed passing a similar resolution. "We have passed a resolution banning pre-wedding video and photo-shoots and the same would be communicated to the community through a circular which is being drafted," Bhagwan Das Israni, president of the Bhopal Sindhi community said.

The Jain community also backed the diktat issued by the Gujarati and Sindhi communities saying such events were having a bad impact on the social bonding within their community.

According to Pramod Himanshu Jain, a decision to this effect was necessitated after a spiritual guru of the community raised the issue of male choreographers training pre weeding obscene dance performances.

"Our spiritual guru called it obscene so we have issued the necessary directions," Jain said.

Earlier in May 2018, a Sindhi panchayat in Ujjain had issued a similar diktat banning pre-weeding shoots. The decision to ban pre-wedding photo-shoot was opposed by many within the community in Ujjain with splinter groups claiming that no one person or a group of persons represented the entire community.

Similar sentiments are now being echoed by members of the Sindhi, Gujarati and Jain communities in Bhopal even though no one has so far dared to openly disregard the diktat.

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