Jewelry is banned in these villages of Uttarakhand! Women cannot wear more than three pieces of jewelry; find out why

Devbhoomi, Uttarakhand, is known for its traditional clothing and jewelry, which women are often seen wearing during auspicious occasions. Meanwhile, the villages of Kandad and Indraoli in Vikasnagar-Jaunsar Bawar are currently in the news for a historic social decision. A meeting of the Gram Panchayat Kandad decided that women in Kandad and Indraoli villages will wear only three gold ornaments during weddings and auspicious occasions. A fine of fifty thousand rupees was also agreed upon for those violating this decision. The villagers’ collective decision is being widely discussed.

Two villages took a historic social decision: The Jaunsar Bawar tribal region of Dehradun district, Uttarakhand, is renowned for its unique traditions and folk culture. From time to time, Khat Pattis (8 to 10 villages) and village social reform decisions have been taken in the Jaunsar Bawar region. On October 16th, villagers in Kandad village, Chakrata block, Jaunsar Bawar, unanimously decided that women will now wear only three gold ornaments: earrings, a mangalsutra, and a nose ring (phuli) at public events, including weddings and other auspicious occasions.

Why the decision was needed: The villagers’ decision aims to curb the growing trend of ostentation in society and address the feeling of economic inequality. Local villagers say that some women wear heavy gold jewelry to events, which impacts economically weaker families. Consequently, this unanimous decision was reached at a village meeting. Over fifty families reside in Kandad and Indraoli villages.

The villagers of both Kandad and Indraoli have taken a collective decision, which is very good. The decision serves as a lesson for future generations, and the younger generation has also appreciated it.
Arvind, Pradhan, Gram Panchayat Kandad

Local women welcomed the decision: Local woman Phulpa Devi Jaunsar wore a posh and three gold ornaments, but said the village’s decision was fair to everyone, and she had no objections. Amrita Chauhan, a villager, said the decision was good. Because at weddings and auspicious occasions, some women wear more jewelry than us, while others wear less. Some show off too much, so this decision was taken to address this. The goal is to ensure that all women in the village look the same at weddings. Wearing less jewelry makes people feel poor. People even borrow money and loans to make gold jewelry, which is not right.

The Gram Sabhas of Kandad and Indraoli have taken a very good decision. Gold jewelry has become very expensive. Previously, women wore earrings, nose rings, and mangalsutras. The culture is changing with time. In some families, eight to ten women don’t even have jewelry to wear, while women in working families are laden with jewelry. This increases inequality in society.
Ankit Chauhan, local villager

Women will wear similar jewelry: Baldev Singh of Kandad village says the villagers took this decision to erase the distinction between wealth and poverty. Some people in the village have more jewelry, while others have less. Therefore, the village has established a tradition that all women attending weddings and other auspicious functions wear the same jewelry. Kandad and Idroli villages are mostly farmers, whose finances are not strong. Therefore, the entire village council has decided that women will wear similar jewelry. No one should have the feeling that they have more and others have less.

Elderly Uma Devi also praised the decision: Uma Devi, who has seen 90 springs in the village, said that this decision is very good. Tikam Singh, also from the village, said that gold has become very expensive, and not everyone can make gold jewelry. All the women in the village will wear similar jewellery, which has also been our past tradition.