Kolkata: Narayan Singha Rai, 54, was a worried man till a few days ago as despite being married for 20 years, he had never thought of obtaining a marriage certificate.
Amid confusion over the National Register for Citizenship (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act, Rai, just as several other married couples, feared that he may have to face problems in the absence of complete wedding documents.
On Sunday, Rai, a medical representative by profession and a resident of Tarabagan in West Bengal’s East Bardhaman district, was among 15 couples who were part of a mass remarriage ceremony held in Kalna to get their marriage certificates. “My wife Anjali and I never thought it will be so much of fun. We are tension-free after getting the marriage certificate as you never know what will happen in future due to the NRC and CAA,” Rai said.
Rai’s ceremony was attended by his grandchildren and the formality of witness was performed by his daughter Tanya.
Speaking to the News18, Anupam Dutta, event organiser and social worker, said, “It is mandatory to have a marriage certificates nowadays but they didn’t pay much attention to it. Presently, due to the NRC and CAA there is a panic among the people and we felt it’s only these documents which can save us from any legal hassles. Therefore, we decided to organise this unique event. Fifteen married couples participated in the ceremony and all of them got their marriage certificates.”
He added, “The most interesting aspect was that remarriages were held in front of their children and grandchildren. It was fun as children saw their parents exchanging garlands and greeting each other with roses and sweets. I would like to clarify that the ‘remarriage’ here means not a second marriage. It is the remarriage ceremony with the first wife only,” he added.
Another couple Arun Mishra and Gargi from Kalna said, “The present situation ( due to NRC and CAA) forced us to pay attention to marriage certificates and we are extremely happy to get it through a fun filled event organised by Anupam,” Mishra said.
Anirban Mishra, whose parents were among those who went for the wedding ceremony, called it a memorable day. “I never thought that because of NRC and CAA, I will be able to see my father’s marriage again. It was indeed very interesting,” he said.
Amid panic over the NRC and Citizenship Act in the last few weeks, people in Wes Bengal have been queuing up at municipal/panchayat offices to get their papers/voter ID/Aaadhaar cards corrected to avoid any complication in future.
The organisers are now planning to conduct more such events in the district.a
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