Born in Haryana, treated as outsiders: Migrant brides & inheritance of an endless search for acceptance

**Gurugram:** Haryana has been living with the consequences of its skewed sex ratio for over two decades now. 

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Thousands of men in Haryana’s villages, unable to find local brides, have married women from far-off states, Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand—women still referred to in local parlance as “*molki*” or “procured” brides.

Their arrival into Haryanvi households has been documented and debated for years. What has gone largely unexamined, until now, is the identity they pass onto their children. A new peer-reviewed study argues that the marginalisation faced by these mothers is quietly being passed down to their sons and daughters, many of whom are born and raised in Haryana but still seeking acceptance.

The study, for University of Wroclaw, Poland, and published in the Scopus-indexed journal *Asian Ethnicity* is titled “Left behind or left out? Migrant brides’ worries for their children’s futures in cross-regional marriages in rural Haryana”.

It is authored by Manisha Kaushik, a PhD from the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, and Ankit (goes by first name), who received his PhD in May this year from the Doctoral College of Sociology at the University of Wroclaw, Poland. 

Fieldwork for the study was carried out in August 2024.

The two researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 cross-region brides, in Jind and Mahendragarh—two districts chosen because local media reports had flagged them as emerging hubs for cross-region marriages.

Jind is dominated numerically by the Jat community, Mahendragarh by the Ahirs, with Dalits present in significant numbers in both.

***Also Read:*** [*Haryana’s 2026 sex ratio at birth drop has rattled Saini govt. It’s roping in pandits, maulvis, granthis*](https://theprint.in/india/governance/haryanas-2026-sex-ratio-at-birth-drop-has-rattled-saini-govt-its-roping-in-pandits-maulvis-granthis/2932968/)

# Taunted as ‘Bihari’ and ‘Chinese’

The interviews threw up a pattern that repeated itself across both districts—children of migrant brides facing derogatory name-calling in school, in the lanes of their own villages, often mirroring slurs directed at their mothers.

Babita, originally from Bihar, told the researchers that her children were initially mocked as “children of the Bihari,” until she confronted those making the remarks.

Madhu, from Odisha, said local children taunted her sons and daughters as “*Biharin ke*,” meaning belonging to a Bihari mother.

Similarly, Anju, who came to Haryana from Assam, recounted that her son was even likened to “Chinese” during his childhood, a reflection of how physical appearance, and not just place of origin, becomes grounds for exclusion.

Sunita, another respondent from West Bengal, put it starkly: there is a saying in her village that families like hers have “bought” this humiliation upon their children.

“While I may be indifferent to what others say, I am compelled to voice this concern as our children bear the brunt of insults beyond the confines of our home,” she told the researchers.

# A disconnect from mother’s side of the family

The study found that many of these children have never met their maternal relatives and, in several cases, do not even know their mother’s native village. Meena, a respondent from Odisha, said her daughter had asked about the significance of the maternal family during wedding rituals, a question Meena could not answer because she herself had lost touch with her birth family.

“Who will fulfil my brother’s responsibilities? Only the divine knows,” she said.

A 30-year-old widow from Assam told researchers that her children constantly ask to visit their maternal home. Her response, she said, is to tell them she no longer remembers the route and that the visit can happen once they are older and educated.