Public grievance meetings usually bring requests for roads, water and pensions. At one event in Karnataka, the ask was of a different kind: help finding a bride.
The farmer raised the issue before Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, saying men from farming communities were struggling to find brides despite owning agricultural land. A video of the moment has since gone viral. The exchange took place at a Praja Seva programme in Piriyapatna, in Mysuru district, on Saturday, 3 October.
In February, Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath wrote to then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking special incentives for women who marry farmers. In his letter, Ranganath, who represents Kunigal in Tumakuru district, asked the government to announce a special allowance and special status for women who marry men living in villages and dependent on farming during the upcoming Assembly session. Because families increasingly prefer grooms with government, corporate or other salaried jobs, he suggested farmers remain unmarried.
He said many women are unwilling to marry men engaged in agriculture, leaving many farmers unmarried even after the age of 30.
