Plight of harassed NRI wives and Punjab government

EVERY now and then the plight of harassed NRI wives catches our attention. The government not only sits up and takes notice of their unenviable predicament but also makes the right noises. The Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab has now promised strict laws to deal with the menace. To the list of many initiatives that the Punjab government has undertaken to protect “nowhere brides” a helpline and a website have already been added. Indeed, in a state home to thousands of NRI brides left in the lurch, any move that will bring relief to them is welcome.

It’s been quite a while since the problem of fraudulent marriages involving NRI grooms has come to light. Efforts have been made at both the individual and macro level to help women caught in the web of deceit and cheating. While former Union Minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia has always picked up the cudgels on behalf of hapless women, Perneet Singh, a passport officer at Jalandhar, has used passport confiscation as a tool to ensure justice for the victims of what in common parlance are known as “holiday marriages”. The Ministry of Overseas Affairs and the National Commission of Women too have taken several steps, including the setting up of a special NRI cell, to offer guidance to women in distress. However, justice continues to elude deserted wives.
While the number of “nowhere brides” in Punjab during the last 10 years is estimated to be around 10,000, only 159 cases have been registered in the last three years. Certainly, the problem has a social angle too and is, in a way, a manifestation of the obsessive fascination to migrate abroad. While the proposed law stipulates complete verification of NRI grooms, parents would do well to check their antecedents themselves too. However, there is no denying that the problem can only be addressed through legal methods. Till unsuspecting brides are not helped by strict laws involving the governments of other countries as well, girls will continue to be exploited at the hands of unscrupulous NRIs who have made a mockery of the sacred institution of marriage.