SRINAGAR, 31 May 2004 - An unprecedented clampdown on lavish weddings in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir province has evoked a mixed response in the predominantly Muslim province but senior officials say that the government's order will be implemented in letter and spirit.
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's administration yesterday invoked the 31-year-old Essential Commodities Act (ECA) that had fallen into disuse to curb excessive spending on marriages and waste.
Henceforth, the parents of the bride and groom will have to submit their wedding plans to the Food and Supplies Department for approval.
The bride's side will be allowed 75 guests, the groom's just 50.
The menus have to be approved by government officials to ensure the new rules allowing only seven dishes are being followed. Guests must not consume more than 45 kg of rice and 45 kg of meat.
A squad of food inspectors are now empowered to raid receptions without warning to check out the wedding spreads. Those caught breaking the law may be jailed for up to three years.
Sayeed said his government is determined to rein in lavish weddings to stop the waste that occurs during the region's traditional 30-course nuptial feasts.
Kashmiri weddings are notorious throughout India for the dazzling array of dishes, all prepared by a master chef and an army of assistants.
The celebration can last for more than a week, with dinners being held every night, each more sumptuous than the last.
Kashmiris apparently believe that a massive spread is a matter of honor for the hosts. But guests invariably eat less and waste more.
Welcoming the crackdown, a prominent social activist said that so much food is dumped in garbage vats after marriage celebrations that dogs in Srinagar and elsewhere in Kashmir are inevitably healthier than underprivileged people.
The activist said that the guest control order will benefit the poor who, in their efforts to keep up with society's expectations, often sink badly into debt as a result of borrowing money to finance their children's nuptials.
