The Frog Wedding Ritual Has Drawn Criticism Across The Country
Minister of State for Women and Child Development Lalita Yadav has been in the headlines for attending and helping to plan a wedding. But it was not a typical wedding.
Two Frogs were Married by Indian Governor to “Appease Gods”[/tweetthis]
The wedding was between two frogs. The ritual was done to appease the Hindu god of rain, Indra Dev. The ceremony was in Uttar Pradesh, a region struggling with terrible droughts for two years. Droughts have devastating consequences in India, killing tens of thousands of people through massive famine.
A frog wedding, although rare, is occasionally done. It is believed the wedding will help to re-establish a balance in nature. Indian citizens in Uttar Pradesh had carried out a similar ceremony earlier in the month.
Wedding of two frogs organized as part of a ritual held in Chhattarpur to 'please rain gods'. Madhya Pradesh Minister Lalita Yadav who was also present says' We have prayed to god for rain in drought hit Bundelkhand region and for the welfare of our farmers' (22.6.18) pic.twitter.com/q2qxz7taZi
— ANI (@ANI) June 24, 2018
Yadav claimed the drought happened because nature was not “happy.” She explained that the ritual was what their ancestors would have done to stop the drought. Many political opponents have criticized Yadav for engaging in a bizarre ritual instead of trying to do meaningful policy actions. What has drawn particular ire is Yadav’s claim the ceremony was not supernatural but was utterly logical.
There has been no official comment from the government. There has never been a scientific study to gauge the effectiveness of the ritual in history, making it unclear if it will have any effect on .