The Punjab State government has done well to address the problem of fake marriages by making it mandatory for all weddings conducted within its borders to be officially documented by the Registrar of Marriages.
Speaking to the Punjabi Diaspora at the ‘Pravasi Punjabi Sammelan 2013’ held in Chandigarh on January 5 (prior to the ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’ held in Kochi, Kerala from January 7 to 9, 2013), Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal said that the Punjab State Assembly had passed awide-ranging legislation.
“It is time to check this menace,” he said.
Fake marriages and ‘marriages of convenience’ are not specific to Indians from India alone. Many women of Indian origin (from Fiji, South Africa and other countries), and those from South Asian countries have also become victims of unscrupulous people who lure them into marriages promising permanent residence in Western countries.
It is not uncommon for the bride’s family, including her parents and siblings, incurring huge debts, selling or mortgaging their movable and immovable assets in India to raise the money required to meet marriage costs and the demands of bridegrooms.
While marriage is still a sacred bond between a man and a woman, leading to strengthened ties between families, it has also unfortunately become the playground for fraudsters and those perpetrating violence,
In New Zealand, we have handled complaints from Indian women (from India and Fiji) of the sufferings they had to undergo after arriving in New Zealand.
The Indian Government is considering ways and means of bringing the perpetrators to justice.
But that is not an easy process, as proved in recent years. In a majority of cases, the perpetrators are New Zealand citizens and hence remain beyond the reach of the Indian Government and its Diplomatic Mission in Wellington.
Cases of young women becoming victims of domestic violence have made the New Zealand Police sit up and take notice but with a justice system that is soft and ineffective, the perpetrators go scot-free, much to the chagrin of the victims.
Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi told this newspaper during a recent conversation that his government is taking steps to check this problem and bring the perpetrators to justice.
He said that laws to safeguard the interests of abandoned brides overseas are now in force and that a number of diplomatic missions including the High Commission in New Zealand have been authorised to provide money as legal aid to the victims. Applicants should however satisfy the set criteria.
In Auckland, a number of organisations including the New Zealand Sikh Women’s Association, Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust and Shakti have assisted many victims of fake and failed marriages, especially in cases where the women are on visitor visa.
Three months ago, Indian Newslink initiated contacts with the South Auckland Family Violence Prevention Network and an immigration lawyer, through whose efforts a poor Indo-Fijian woman obtained a work permit to stay in New Zealand. The young woman had to endure violence, and struggle to be finally free of her husband and his abuse.
We hope to take up this issue with the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader to examine the possibilities of the intervention of the New Zealand government to ensure the safety and security of women of Indian origin and those from South Asia. It is now time to not only stop fake marriages but also the illegal activities that are associated with them.
