Unmarried rural youth in Maharashtra plan Statewide stir for govt. help in getting brides

Kisan Nanaware (28), who held a dharna demanding bride at the District Collector’s office in September, now plans to build a network of unmarried rural youth to protest against State apathy to their plight. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

It is not the inflation, unemployment, deletion of names from the voters’ list or corruption that is simmering in rural Maharashtra youth who are gearing up for an agitation. Unlike other Gen Z across India, these youth have an unusual demand – get us brides to marry.

“We are planning not only a Statewide but a nationwide network of boys who are not getting brides to marry and plan a massive agitation,” Kisan Nanaware, a 28-year-old youth from Solapur, told The Hindu.

Mr. Nanaware came into the limelight after he held a dharna demanding bride at the District Collector’s office in September. He fears he may suffer the same fate as thousands of men in rural Solapur in western Maharashtra, pointing out that the issue stretches far beyond men in their early 30s, with some in their 40s and 50s having given up hope of finding a partner.

Youth such as Mr. Nanaware argue that the State must issue an official resolution detailing steps to assist those who are unmarried. Their core demands include setting up an all-religion marriage registration bureau under the Social Welfare Department, providing direct financial assistance, creating steady rural employment, and guaranteeing remunerative prices for farm produce. He warns that if authorities fail to act, the movement could take an aggressive turn.

The politicians who have been facing various kinds of agitations are now facing heat of the unmarried youth.

What was supposed to be a standard campaign stop for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections in Ashti, Beed district (Marathwada region), took a dramatic turn when an agitated young man seized the microphone from local organisers and voiced an issue cutting across rural Maharashtra for which he wanted an immediate answer from the leaders. “Keep aside all other problems and look at our condition,” he demanded, speaking to a crowd of ruling alliance leaders gathered for the Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituency elections held on October 23. “Many of us, including me, have crossed 30 or 32 and still we are not getting brides. Solve this problem first!”

Leaders of the BJP-led ruling coalition were not entirely surprised by the outburst. Behind the scenes, politicians have been monitoring simmering anger among rural men who find themselves systematically rejected by prospective brides and their families due to falling farm incomes, lack of steady employment, and a skewed gender ratio.

Maharashtra recorded a sex ratio of 899 girls per 1,000 boys during the 2022-24 period, marginally improving from 896 girls in 2012-14 but well below the national average of 918 girls, according to the latest Sample Registration System Statistical Report.

Bleak prospects

From Ministers to leaders across party lines, veteran leader Sharad Pawar to local gram panchayat sarpanches, young boys are now raising one simple question, “What about our marriage?” No one has answer to this.

“If not leaders, who is going to answer? At least they must solve one problem and this is the pressing one,” said 32-year-old Avinash Shende from Yavatmal in Vidarbha region. Along with farming, he is working on a contract with a private cleaning agency and has not completed his graduation. He added that like him other youth in the region are now galvanising support to take up this issue at the State level. He says the movement would start from gram sabhas in villages.

The ruling BJP-led alliance in the State is worried as the frustration on the ground is quickly turning into organised agitation. The agitated youth have demanded that if the State government is unable to help them secure brides or improve their financial standing through stable jobs and fair agricultural prices, it must introduce a monthly pension scheme for unmarried men.

‘Difficult challenge’

“For a government already dealing with widespread agitations over inflation, unemployment, and the ongoing Election Commission of India’s SIR drive, this demographic crisis presents a difficult challenge. Unlike economic policy or infrastructure projects, resolving a social shortage of brides is not something easily fixed by government decree. But then, the youth are not in a mood to listen,” said a local BJP leader in Sangli district who requested anonymity.

Kolhapur-based social activist Rupa Shah says the frustration of unmarried youth is not only going to escalate as anger against politicians, but would also turn into a major social problem. “There are two angles to the problem. Now girls in rural areas are pursuing higher education and have aspirations and want to move to cities… also the skewed sex ratio because of female foetus killing all these years is showing the impact,” she said.

Published - October 28, 2026 09:09 pm IST