While many (read: right-wing groups) have argued that the idea of Valentine’s Day goes against the culture of Indian society, over 10,000 school students in Surat, Gujarat, commemorated the day on February 14. About 25 schools participated in the event that involved the students taking an oath – that would gain the approval of right-wing groups – no marriage without parents’ consent.
The institutes will be organising an oath-taking ceremony on their respective campuses, where students will take a pledge to marry only after getting the approval from their parents. The unique initiative has been organised by Hasyamev Jayate, an organisation that conducts laughter and crying clubs in the city in collaboration with an NGO named Youth Nation. The main objective behind the initiative is to promote the idea of love and marriage with the consent of parents.
“If you want to marry someone you love, you should first convince your parents. That’s because I feel that our parents are like gods who would always wish the best for their children. We should sit down and talk about everything with our parents and elders because they are our true well-wishers,” Kamlesh Masalawala, founder of Hasyamev Jayate and the organiser of the events, told InUth.
Masalawala also highlighted the importance of family, and said, “The number old age homes in our country is increasing day by day. It is not a good sign, either for our country or for our society. Youngsters often send their parents to old ages homes but I haven’t heard of parents sending their kids to ‘young age’ homes.”
