2 brothers marry same woman in rural India

In a rare and controversial ceremony, two brothers from rural India, Pradeep and Kapil Negi, have married the same woman, Sunita Chauhan, in a traditional three-day wedding that has reignited debate over ancient customs and gender rights.

The wedding, held on July 12 in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, was attended by hundreds of villagers and family members. Photos and videos of the ceremony have since gone viral, drawing both fascination and criticism.

The practice, known as polyandry—where one woman marries multiple men—is banned in most parts of India, but still exists legally in some tribal regions, especially in the Himalayan belt, where such traditions are rooted in cultural and economic factors. Historically, polyandry was practiced to keep land within a family and prevent division of property.

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.

(AFP)