After Facebook matrimony ad, Geeta to meet 14 candidates

05.06.2018
INDORE: A swayamvar of sorts will be held for Pakistan-returned deaf-and-mute girl Geeta as she will get to select her husband from a line of suitors at a two-day event in Indore on June 7-8.

She will meet 14 candidates shortlisted by her and the administration. Six of them have no disabilities. Officials said it's important for the bride and groom to like each other, rather than matching of horoscopes. One of the conditions Geeta has is that she will marry only if the suitor completes a diploma course in sign language.

Geeta's 'matrimonial ad', for a 'smart, deaf-mute boy', was posted on Facebook in April by Indore-based sign language expert Gyanendra Purohit. It attracted around 60 marriage applications with suitors sending in CVs from across the country, including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

All the CVs were sent to the external affairs ministry, where officials shortlisted 26 candidates. Of them, the prospective bride finalized 15 for the meeting.

Following instructions from the ministry, the local administration will now organize a meeting between Geeta and the selected candidates on June 7-8 at a hostel of the social justice department in Pardeshipura. On the first day, six persons have been called and eight on the second. One of the suitors, who has a leg disability, has already met Geeta.

Of the 14 suitors invited to meet Geeta, seven are deaf-mute and an eighth has a physical challenge. Purohit, who worked as interpreter for Geeta during her initial days back in India, social justice department's joint director B S Jain and zilla panchayat CEO Neha Meena are likely to be present at the meeting and help Geeta take a decision.

According to Purohit, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has said that Geeta is India's daughter and her marriage will be organized by the government.

Geeta was found alone aboard the Samjhauta Express at Lahore when she was seven or eight years old. It is surmised that she accidentally boarded the train somewhere in India. Karachi-based Edhi Foundation took care of her while she lived in Pakistan. She returned to India in 2015.