Celebrations turn sour: A wedding to remember

By Shamsul Islam

Published: July 6, 2011

"It was absolute mayhem. Bottles and stones were being thrown by each party and dozens were injured", recalls wedding guest Haroon.

FAISALABAD:

A wedding ceremony in Chiniot turned into a riot over the issue of dowry on Monday night.

According to eyewitnesses, a wedding party of over 75 people arrived in Satellite Town, Chiniot on Monday night but the festivities soon turned sour when the groom’s party refused the match after stating the dowry was inadequate. “It was absolute mayhem. Bottles and stones were being thrown by each party and dozens were injured,” said a wedding guest Haroon.

According to local residents, Mohalla Noorpur resident Amir Ilyas reached Sattelite Town to marry Shamila, the daughter of Khuda Buksh. Ilyas brought a wedding party of over 70 guests to Buksh’s house. According to a guest at the wedding, the bride and groom were close relatives and the marriage had been arranged with the consent of their parents. “It was an elaborate wedding and the guests were warmly received. They were eating food when the fighting began,” said Latif, a server.

The riot broke out after several women from the groom’s family went to visit the bride in her room. The groom’s mother Nighat Bibi inspected the bride’s dowry and found it to be less than expected. “I saw her shake her head silently to the woman sitting next to her when we showed her the dowry. She openly said that they would not accept such ‘rags’,” said Shamila’s cousin Irum.

Nighat Bibi came outside and told her family that the dowry was less than the acceptable amount.

“She told them they should all leave and there would be no wedding. When the bride’s family heard of this they tried to plead with the family not to embarrass them and things escalated,” said Haroon.

Buksh and his sons tried to negotiate with the groom’s family but they began insulting him and his daughter. “The men even said that they should proceed with the ceremony and that they would send more things for the dowry later on but the groom said that the girl was already not to his liking and the only reason they had considered the match was because of the dowry,” a servant at the house told reporters.

The guests refused to listen and insisted on leaving the house and a brawl broke out between members of both families.

The situation soon escalated and the girl’s father and brothers began throwing empty bottles and bricks at the groom and his family. Dozens of people were injured in the brawl and eventually several villagers intervened in the matter.

The groom was severely beaten and his clothes were torn during the fight. When bride was told about the incident, she fainted and was later taken to the hospital for a check up.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2011.