It is okay to beat up your husband with `mogri` if he turns alcoholic, says MP minister

Brides can now apply `mogri` or wooden bat on their husbands if they turn alcoholic. `Mogri` or wooden bat, which is commonly used to beat clothes while washing to take dirt out of it, has now been gifted to newly wedded brides to apply on their alcoholic husbands.

New Delhi: Brides may now use 'mogri' or wooden bat on their husbands if they turn alcoholic. 'Mogri', or wooden bat, commonly used to wash clothes with to take dirt out of them, have now been gifted to newly-wedded brides - to be used on their alcoholic husbands, to beat them clean.

Panchayati raj minister Gopal Bhargava presented mogri to nearly 700 brides at a mass-marriage ceremony in Madhya Pradesh. The marriages were solemnised on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya on Saturday, where Bhargave asked the brides to use it if their husbands turn violent or harass them, and refuse to mend their ways.

The gifted mogri even bears the caption 'sharabiyon ke sutara hetu bhent, police nahi bolegi' (gift for beating drunkards, police will not intervene).

"Whenever I visit any rural or urban area in my constituency, women complain about the drinking habit of their husband. They inform me that whatever little they earn is snatched away by their husband for alcohol. They (women) are also subjected to physical violence," PTI quoted Bhargava as saying.

According to Bhargava, mogri is the perfect gift for women. So he ordered 10,000 bats, to be gifted to women 'suffering at the hands of their alcoholic husbands'.

"The idea of gifting mogri struck me when a woman asked me whether she should get her husband to stop drinking by beating him with this wooden plank," PTI quoted him as saying.

The minister sees nothing wrong in it and feels that it a step towards bringing social change, which is necessary to deal with the menace of alcoholism.

"The government or police alone would not be able to solve this problem. For this, people have to come forward. There are many examples in history which show that when masses intervene, things have changed for the better," PTI quoted the minister as saying.

As reported by PTI, the minister urged the women to first have a word with their husbands and make them understand the ill effects of drinking and if they don't listen, then let the mogri do the talking.

"Sale of illegal liquor in every state is a major issue. Unless people come forward to deal with it, things won't improve," PTI quoted Bhargava as saying.

"An atmosphere is being created in the entire state against liquor but people need to be educated on the issue. It is essential before declaring prohibition," PTI quoted him as saying.

Bhargava, who has been organising mass marriages for quite some time now, also asked the brides to plant saplings and stop all illegal activities in their villages. He asked them to ensure that their children get a proper education.

(With PTI inputs)