Activist urges inclusion of widows in Makar Sankranti rituals

Mumbai, Jan 10 (PTI) Social activist Pramod Zinjade has appealed to society to include widowed women in traditional Makar Sankranti rituals.

Zinjade, who heads the Mahatma Phule Samaj Seva Mandal and works for the eradication of evil social customs, stated that excluding widows from festive celebrations is discriminatory and regressive.

"Excluding widowed women from such celebrations by branding them inauspicious is a social injustice. If one considers oneself religious, widowed women should be given respect by allowing them to light lamps in temples or home shrines and offer prayers and food to deities," he said.

Zinjade welcomed villages where widows are already being included in festive rituals. He appealed to educated and courageous widowed women to organise haldi-kumkum and tilgul programmes for other widows in their villages on Makar Sankranti. PTI MR NSK