Every heard about polyandry? There’s a pretty good reason if you didn’t. Polyandry is a form of marriage where one woman has multiple husbands often brothers at the same time. It’s practiced in a few cultures around the world such as Tibet, Nepal, and Northern India. Although, the practice isn’t universally condemned—but it’s definitely controversial. In Western societies, polyandry is rare and often illegal with many scholars label it “unnatural” or “promiscuous.
Two brothers, in a rare recent instance of polyandrous marriage, from Himachal Pradesh’s Hatti tribe married the same woman in a traditional ceremony known as Jodidara.
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A three-day wedding celebration, began on July 12 in Shillai village, Himachal Pradesh, where Sunita Chauhan married two brothers, Pradeep and Kapil Negi. The event featured folk music, dances, and drew hundreds of guests. The couple said the decision was mutual, rooted in pride, unity, and transparency within their family tradition.
Is polyandry legal?
The traditional practice of polyandry to maintain family cohesion and keep ancestral lands intact continues to be lawfully accepted in some regions of Himachal Pradesh, though not practiced in large numbers. Under the Hindu Marriage Act, the Hatti community continues with traditional ways under law provisions safeguarding tribal customs.
Referring to the recent nuptials in Sirmaur, legal professional Ransingh Chauhan remarked polyandry has been practiced in the area for decades and was legally acknowledged by the Himachal Pradesh High Court under the “Jodidar Law.”
“Many marriages take place under such practices. Media coverage of the Shillai case should not come as a surprise—there is an ancient tradition of this kind designed to avoid dividing up land and keeping families united,” replied Chauhan, legal advisor to the Central Hatti Committee, to Aaj Tak.
