Indian parents, especially parents from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana show a lot of enthusiasm to find a foreign match for their daughters to get them married. But now there is every reason for them to be wary.
According to India’s External Affairs Ministry, it received 3,328 complaints by wives of non-resident Indians, in 1064 days between January 2015 and November 2017. On an average, one NRI woman, called back home to her parents seeking their help every eight hours. Their complaints usually listed desertion by their husbands, ill-treatment or physical abuse.
These victims are either approaching the ministry through social media or directly contacting the Ministry. These women mainly originated from Punjab, Telugu states, and followed by Gujarat.
Aarthi Rao, who worked in the Indian embassy in Washington DC for 16 years, also played as a community development officer for 6 years dealing with such cases. She claims that ‘dowry’ is a major problem faced by Telugu NRI women. ‘NRI men go to India to marry someone only to please their parents, and later desert or abuse them once they return’, said Aarthi Rao.
‘I receive a lot of complaints from West Asian countries. Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry introduced a scheme for such women in 2007 through its grievance redressal portal, MADAD. They cover help both financially and legally’, added Aarthi.
It is easy to play the blame game, but difficult to try and find solutions. The Indian Parents mindset should change. Their obsession to ascertain a status associated with NRI grooms should end.
