India brothers marry same woman in ancient custom

The Himalayan mountain ranges are seen from Shimla, the capital of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007. (AP Photo/Anil Dayal)

Shimla, India -- A pair of brothers in rural India have married the same woman, upholding an ancient custom and sparking criticism from a women’s rights group after photos of the wedding went viral.

Polyandry is banned in India but is legal in some of the tribal pockets, including Himalayan territories, allowing preservation of some ancient traditions.

The grooms, Pradeep and Kapil Negi, married Sunita Chauhan in a three-day wedding witnessed by hundreds of villagers and relatives on July 12 in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh.

During the ceremony, the trio from the Hatti tribe circled a fire considered sacred as villagers sang folksongs.

“We followed the tradition publicly as we are proud of it and it was a joint decision,” Pradeep said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

His brother Kapil added: “We’re ensuring support, stability and love for our wife as a united family.”

One of the brothers is a government employee and the other works overseas.

Under the custom, the wife shifts between brothers on a mutually agreed schedule and the family raises the children together. The eldest brother is named the legal father.

The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), a women’s rights group, condemned the wedding.

“Such acts of women’s exploitation... go against the fundamental rights of a woman,” AIDWA general secretary Mariam Dhawale told local media.

Around 300,000 members of the Hatti tribe live in small villages in the remote Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

Local lawmaker Harshwardhan Singh Chauhan defended the practice, saying polyandry has long been a tradition of the Sirmaur people.

“We have a customary law to protect polyandry,” he told reporters, after photos of the marriage went viral on social media.

Kundal Lal Shashtri, a local Hatti leader, justified the custom by citing the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, in which the character Draupadi married five brothers.