Karachi: In a colourful ceremony that combined tradition with public-welfare symbolism, the Pakistan Hindu Council on Monday solemnised the 19th consecutive collective marriage of 80 Hindu couples and handed each bridegroom a financial-assistance cheque under a Sindh-government grant.
Dr. Shams Sunder K. Advani, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Minority Affairs, distributed the cheques after joining the “phere” ritual of the mass wedding held at a local marriage hall, where saffron-robed priests chanted Vedic hymns and guests from across the city blessed the newly-weds.
“These are not merely gifts; they are the blessings, goodwill and practical support of the Sindh government,” Dr. Advani told the gathering. “Collective marriages reduce the crushing economic burden on lower-income families and promote social equality—principles the Pakistan Peoples Party has always championed.”
The event was presided over by patron-in-chief of the Council and Member National Assembly Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, who has expanded the annual ceremony from 12 couples in 2006 to more than 80 this year. “When families see that dowry and venue costs are taken care of, they allow their daughters to marry within the community instead of delaying or abandoning the match,” Dr. Vankwani said.
Senator (R) Shahin Khalid Butt, Managing Director of Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal, senior bankers and a cross-section of Muslim and Christian guests also attended what organisers described as “a living example of inter-faith harmony and national solidarity.”
Sindh is the only province that allocates a separate budget line for minority marriage subsidies, medical insurance and educational scholarships. Officials say the allocation will rise 15 % in the next fiscal year. “The PPP leadership has repeatedly told us that the welfare, education and health of minorities—and now their weddings—are the first priority, not the last,” Dr. Advani noted.
At the close of the ceremony the hosts presented Dr. Advani with an honorary shield and traditional ajrak shawl, amid applause from brides and grooms who began their new married life with a small savings cushion—courtesy of the provincial exchequer and one of Karachi’s most enduring mass-welfare traditions .
