In the Anjana Chaudhary community of Dhanera taluka in Banaskantha district, a hefty fine of 51,000 rupees has been imposed on youth sporting stylish beards, according to community leaders. This move was made due to the difficulty of distinguishing between youth due to their beards. The leaders of the ‘Trisi Samaj’ and ‘Chovisi Samaj’ gathered for a meeting held by the Dhanera Taluka Yuvak Pragata Mandal and came to this conclusion with other progressive measures for the community.
In addition to the beard fine, the community has also decided to organize mass marriages, stop offering opium as ‘prasad’, limit firecrackers at weddings, ban loud DJ music from marriages, and discontinue certain practices related to weddings and funeral ceremonies. This is due to the increasing cost of events and the hardship of farming in the area.
The meeting was well attended by around 1,000 members of the Anjana Chaudhary community. Raymal Chaudhary, president of the Dhanera Taluka Yuvak Pragati Mandal, said, “Most youths sport beards nowadays and it has become increasingly difficult to tell them apart.” The religious guru from Jodhpur, Dayaram Maharaj, asserts that spiritual gurus keep beards and youth should not, with the community accepting this idea.
The Dhanera Taluka Yuvak Pragati Mandal is an organization focused on the development of the Anjana Chaudhary community in the Dhanera taluka. Its president Raymal Chaudhary has led many initiatives to bring positive social and economic changes to the community. Premabhai Tarak is also a leader renowned for his efforts on education and healthcare in the region.