AHMEDABAD: Tribal districts erupt in celebrations post-Holi as wedding season begins with much fanfare. In Narmada district though a tribal community has decided to give priority to board exams over weddings.
In an unprecedented decision, the Tadvi samaj, which constitutes an estimated 75% of the tribal population in Narmada district, has decided not to hold any weddings between March 27 and April 15. Class 10 and 12 board exams begin from March 28 in the state.
“The decision has been taken in the larger interest of our children as a big number of weddings in the community served as major distraction for the students,” said Mohan Tadvi, president of the Nana Tadvi Samaj in Narmada.
Tadvi said that the decision was taken unanimously by the community leaders.
Explaining the importance of the decision, Tadvi said that unlike urban areas where weddings are limited to family and friends, marriages in tribal communities involve the whole village.
“With the trend of DJ and dancing to dhol tunes catching on, marriages prove to be major distraction for our children,” Tadvi said.
It needs mention that there is 14% reservation for tribal students in admission in various professional colleges. In the past, the state government has started NEET and JEE coaching for admission in medical and engineering colleges respectively. The government has also started funding higher studies of tribal students even in self-financed institutions in a bid to help more students pursue professional education.
With stakes now higher, the community spread over 72 villages has decided to put their children’s career ahead of social functions involving marriages.
“Our community has some 80,000 members in the district. We realised that roughly 70% students clear the board exams. The 30% who fail tend to drop out. We want to stop this and better the result,” said Raman Tadvi, president of the Mota Tadvi Samaj.
