KatherinSteger at 13:28, 11 April 2026

2026-04-11T13:28:29Z

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{{Short description|Practice of droit du seigneur in India}}
'''Dola pratha''' is a practice of ''[[droit du seigneur]]'' in India that pushed the new bride to spend her first night with the [[zamindar]].<ref name="m313">{{cite book | last=Bhatia | first=Bela | title=India's Forgotten Country: A View from the Margins | publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited | date=2024-05-30 | isbn=978-93-5708-420-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ic4KEQAAQBAJ&pg=PT247 | page=247}}</ref>

The accurate period of origin of "Dola pratha" can't be ascertained due to lack of records, but it became a part of "cultural practice", and the landed classes made it their privilege, leading to sexual exploitation of the Shudra girls. In this custom, the newly wed Shudra bride is forced to spend her first night with her local landlord. The word "Dola" literally means ''[[Palanquin]]''. The origin of "Dola custom" is traced back to the legend of ''Mahteen Mata''. The existence of a temple of Mahteen Mata in the [[Shahabad district]] of Bihar, is testimonial to the existence of this custom.<ref name="Srivastava"/>

The story of Mahteen Mata or ''Ragmati'' has two different versions, while one is [[Sanskrit]]ic version, the other is Shudra version. According to Sanskritic version of the folklore, a landlord named Ranpal Singh [[raped]] Ragmati, a newly wed bride, when her ''Palanquin'' was passing through his [[fiefdom]]. The poor Ragmati couldn't tolerate the loss of her "dignity", and subsequently committed [[suicide]]. The suicide led to tension and in order to avoid punishment, Ranpal Singh spread a false story, that when he was about to touch the women, her body glared and she left for [[heaven]]. Thus, according to him, she was a not an ordinary women but a [[deity]].<ref name="Srivastava">{{cite journal |last1=Srivastava |first1=Sumit S. |title=Violence and Shudra Women's Resistance in Rural Bihar |journal=Indian Anthropologist |date=2007 |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=31–44 |jstor=41920038 |issn=0970-0927}}The most glaring form of traditional 'ritually' sanctioned form manifests in Dola Pratha. It is difficult to ascertain the birth and origin of such a practice as it existed as far back as 'Shudra memory' can recall back. Dola literally means palanquin which is used to carry newly wed bride to her husband's house/village. Due to oppressive caste system coupled with economic exploitation, the landed gentry took it as their birth right.
There are two different versions of Mahteen Mai (Maheshwar, 1997:35-39). The 'Sanskritic' version says that the local landlord of Shahabad, Ranpal Singh raped a newly wed Ragmati when her Dola was passing through his area. Her subsequent suicide led to tension. in the area. To avoid further troubles, Ranpal Singh spread the story that before he could lay hands on her, she glowed and left for heaven. Thus she was not an ordinary women but a deity.</ref>

The Shudra version of the story, however, argue that Ranpal was habitual of raping the Shudra women and molestation the poor Shudra women was also common for him. Hence, this version contests the story shared by Ranpal. Off late, the sexual availability of the Shudra girls to the landed upper-caste became possible not only through the cultural practices like ''Dola Pratha'', but also by the dominance enjoyed by these caste groups in the rural economic structure. It has been noted that the landed gentry often [[rape]] and molest the Shudra women during the festivals like [[Holi]].<ref name="Srivastava"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite web | title=महथिन माई जिन्होंने डोला प्रथा के खिलाफ लड़ी जंग, लोग मानते मां दुर्गा का अवतार, 3500 साल पुराना है इतिहास | website=News18 हिंदी | date=2023-10-16 | url=https://hindi.news18.com/news/dharm/mahthin-mai-who-fought-against-dola-pratha-people-consider-her-to-be-the-incarnation-of-maa-durga-7752797.html | language=hi }}
*{{cite web | title=मिथक से परे : बहुजन महिलाओं के विद्रोह का प्रतीक हैं सती स्थान | website=The Caravan | date=2022-05-13 | url=https://caravanmagazine.in/history/sati-sthan-as-symbol-of-bahujan-resistance}}
*{{cite web | last=Bharat | first=ETV | title=चलो रे डोली उठाओ कहार... विलुप्त होती 'डोली प्रथा' का बिहार से है गहरा नाता, भूल गए लोग | website=ETV Bharat News | date=2021-12-14 | url=https://www.etvbharat.com/hindi/bihar/state/patna/doli-system-is-ending-in-bihar-kahar-became-unemployed-in-patna/bh20211214125653327 | language=hi}}

[[Category:Women's rights in India]]
[[Category:Violence against women in India]]

Dola pratha - Revision history

KatherinSteger at 13:28, 11 April 2026