A schoolgirl in Bundi district of Rajasthan showed the courage to foil the attempt of her family members to whisk her away from a hostel to arrange a matrimonial alliance for her.

“I want to continue my studies,” 12-year-old Nirma Gurjar reportedly told her hostel warden. Nirma is studying in 6th standard at the Kasturba Gandhi hostel in Hindoli town in Bundi district.

Police informed

Taking timely action, the warden Upama Sharma informed the police when her relatives tried to exert pressure on her to send the girl home.

Nirma is living in the hostel since July last year, Upama Sharma told Deccan Herald.
Her relatives, especially her deceased father’s brothers have been repeatedly coming to the hostel and forcing the warden to take Nirma home on one pretext or the other. The girl doesn’t want to go with them or get married. Her mother too wants her to study but her uncles and cousins want to fix a matrimonial alliance for some monetary gain. The warden told the local police on Sunday evening about the attempts made by Nirma’s relatives to take the girl away from the hostel.

Sub-inspector Paras Mal, who is investigating the case, says a complaint will be filed in the court to ensure Nirma’s relatives don’t try to intimidate or force her.

This is also an attempt to exercise their control over the girl whose mother decided to have nata (a marital relationship after one’s husband’s death, common in Gujjar community), he indicated. Her mother lives in Bhilwara district after nata along with her two sisters.