Is Kodava culture being Talibanised by misguided elements?
Is Kodava culture being Talibanised by a bunch of misguided elements? In a despicable act, a mob of so-called Kodava activists barged into a wedding hall a couple of days ago at Kodava Samaja, Bangalore, and disrupted a wedding ceremony on the grounds that it was an “inter-caste marriage”.
A boy from Mukkatira family had married a non-Kodava girl and the wedding rituals were being performed in the Kodava tradition.
The protesters contended that they had no objection to the boy marrying a non-Kodava girl, but they argued that the wedding could not be held as per Kodava rituals.
The activists, holding placards, barged into the wedding hall and stopped the proceedings. Further, they forcibly stopped the playing of ‘Kodava Valaga’.
The behavior of the activists, who took law into their hands, raises many questions. The activists had no business to interfere with the goings-on at a private function.
The law of the land allows people to marry from outside their caste and religion. The actions of the activists smacks of a Taliban mindset.
In the first place, the activists should set their own house in order. They should pay more attention to the farce that is enacted during the ‘Sammanda Kodupa’ (bestowal of rights to the bride) ceremony at most Kodava weddings. And also the drunken binges at the ceremony which follows the ‘Ganga Puje’.
The writer of the article has not named the organizations which indulged in the uncivilised behavior, because any publicity to these organisations is like providing oxygen to the spread of their movement.
It is time that organisations like Kodava Samajas paid more attention to promoting Kodava culture and bonding among the members of the community, instead of turning these samajas into “marriage halls” to rake in funds.
