Gender disparity affecting Havyak grooms

Havyak grooms are now desperately looking for brides as the community’s people are facing severe scarcity of girls, which affects especially the boys, those who are looking for life partners the most. Gender disparity is becoming a social problem for the community, and the community boys are facing the heat severely. As a result, many youths those who have already crossed their marriage age did not get the life partner, and continued their bachelor life.

Who are havyaks?

Havyaks belongs to small community in Brahmin caste of Hindu religion, and the community’s people are living largely in parts of North Canara, South Canara, Udupi, Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Dharwad, Belgaum, and Haveri districts of Karnataka, a southern state of India. Now, some of them were migrated to metropolitan cities like Bangalore, Bombay, Delhi, and some are in countries like United States of America, United Kingdom and other places outside India. They are estimated to be around one lakh in population. They themselves considered as upper caste in Brahmin fraternity, and practice their own custom and rituals.

Earlier community people primarily engaged in agricultural activities, while some practiced Vedic professions and worked as priests in Hindu temples. But, now they were entering into other professions like business, education, and employment. Most of them are now working as software professionals, lawyers, doctors, and journalists.
 

Just ten years back:

Around ten years back, position of community girls, especially those who were in the threshold of marriage was miserable. Dowry was the biggest problem then. Most of the girls could not get life partners just because their parents were not in a position to paid dowry demanded by grooms. Adding, girls those who borned in poor families as well as those who have black color faced the heat most. That was the time of grooms.

As the situation turned to worsen, parents started to hate females. Parents looked to have their own male child, and took doctor's help for foeticide whenever they found foetus is female child. They took cost into consideration whenever they had to their own child, and preferred male child, as girls command more cost than boys as their requirements are more. Adding, Parents thought that male child would helps to lead their next generation, and would have the responsibility to fulfill their requirements in their future life. Because, girls goes to their husband's house, and become husband's family members. As a result, female foeticide witnessed increasing trend which later led to the decreasing number of female child.

But, now the situation is just opposite. Girls are in the driver’s seat, and the boys are in the receiving end. Due to shortage of girls, their demand is also high which burden most on boys. Grooms are suffering most, especially those who are not commanding high salary jobs, and those who are staying in village while looking after agricultural activities. Brides are crossing their limit in demands, as they are demanding grooms with high salary, good looking, and inhabitants of metropolitan cities such as Bangalore, and other foreign countries, and these demands cause a major bottleneck for them.