A Sunday Star Times report that minors were being forced into marriage has angered the Sikh community.
A number of orgnisations have written to us saying that the report was ‘far from the truth’ and that the Shakti Community Council had made wrong and unsubstantiated comments to that newspaper.
“The procedures followed for conducting marriages are designed to involve the concerned families, community leaders and others,” it said.
According to the statement, a Sikh Granthi (Priest) does not have an authority to be a marriage celebrant.
“Families must make bookings to conduct a marriage ceremony in the Sikh Temple (Gurdwara) and such bookings are considered by an Organising Committee. Marriage is an important ceremony held in high regard by the Sikh community but it does not constitute a legal wedding.
“In order to obtain a Marriage Certificate, the bride and bridegroom still have to apply to the Marriage Registrar in New Zealand as per the New Zealand law and there is no exemption. A marriage cannot be registered if either party involved is underage,” the Statement said.
The Sikh community leaders said that the brides entering marriage here are mostly New Zealand born, while their parents could be from overseas. An overseas-based bridegroom may come to this country to get married if Immigration New Zealand issues the necessary permit.
The leaders described the Shakti Community Council comments, as reported by Sunday Star Times as “ridiculous” and “could not be more wrong.”
“If a marriage is culturally arranged, a New Zealand-born girl, as claimed by the Shakti Community Council, must sponsor the male on marriage basis, or as her fiancé. Immigration New Zealand rules do not allow under-age persons to sponsor anyone under any category, let alone for marriage.
“Therefore, technically this cannot happen, as alleged by the Shakti Community Council. Further, the legal age for marriage in India is also 21 years and there are severe penalties for breaching the law. Underage girls cannot be forced to marry in India either,” they said.
They said the Sikh community is very responsible and respects the law and human rights. The Community lives by a core set of values, which include equality for all persons, regardless of their gender, race or religion.
“The information provided by Shakti Community Council is not only false, but also insulting and demeaning to us. The motives behind such insulting statements are unknown to us but it would only be fair to assume it is being done to justify their existence and possibly gain more funding from the Government,” the leaders said.
The Statement said that Sikhs perceived the news item as offensive and as an attack on the Community, family and cultural values.
“It appears that the Shakti Community Council is trying to sabotage the privilege of arranged marriages, which we have had for years, and it can be said they are very successful. They are not forced on anyone. The bride and bridegroom are always legally entitled to marry and are also fully involved in the decision-making.”
“Each marriage takes place between two consenting adults in conjunction with their families. Shakti Community Council should be ashamed of such an insensitive act and must apologise to the Sikh community. Sikhs will endeavour to ensure that no one issues such statements against the community in the future.”
The following organisations and individuals issued the Statement to Indian Newslink: Supreme Sikh Council of New Zealand (Daljit Singh and Ranvir Singh Lali); New Zealand Sikh Society Auckland (Manpreet Singh and Rajinder Singh); New Zealand Sikh Society Tauranga (Ram Singh and Kashmir Singh); New Zealand Sikh Society Palmerston North (Sondeep Singh); New Zealand Sikh Society Central Auckland West (Harpreet Singh Gill and Davinder Singh Jolly); New Zealand Indian Sports & Cultural Association President Hardev Singh Brar.
Indian Newslink welcomes comments from the Shakti Community Council by email to editor@indiannewslink.co.nz
