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Planning a destination wedding to the Maldives? Want a sushi counter and a French patisserie next to the Belgian chocolate fountain, the chaat stall and the the biryani bar? Thinking of Honey Singh for the sangeet? Wondering if the freshly imported Swiss swans would get a bit hot in this weather? You may wrap these thoughts up in tissue and put them away along with that Tarun Tahiliani lehenga.

The Marriages (Compulsory Registration and Prevention of Wasteful Expenditure) Bill, 2016, will put an end to all that. Introduced in the Lok Sabha by a Congress member of Parliament, it could be taken up as a private member’s bill in the next session. The bill seeks to cap the number of guests invited and dishes served. Weddings that cost above Rs 5 lakh must declare the amount and donate 10% of it to a welfare fund set up by the government and used to help poor families pay for their daughters’ weddings. Now, this bill may have been motivated by good taste or egalitarian instincts, both perfectly sound concerns. But there could be a catch or two in it.

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It is not that we are complaining about the state getting in our business. In the last few months, it has decided how much cash we should have and wants to know all our private details before it hands out food subsidies, lets us write examinations and even own a mobile phone. So it might as well play wedding planner too. The concern here is mainly economic.

The big fat Indian wedding is a $40 billion industry. It has held steady in the face of economic downturns. It has given rise to cheery articles telling you not to worry, you can still have a great wedding for just Rs 10 lakh. The growing scale of these extravaganzas has also created thousands of livelihoods: think of the armies of make-up artists, decorators, caterers and florists quietly labouring away behind the scenes. These weddings have also fuelled the great Indian start-up, with wedding planning businesses mushrooming overnight.

Besides, what of Bollywood? Who is going to steal the bride from the wedding mandap that does not look like a palace? Where are the old college friends going to meet after years if not at a wedding in a fabulous Rajasthani fort? And everybody knows the end to a good romance is a big fat Indian wedding. This bill could single-handedly demolish the plots of thousands of Bollywood movies. Besides, what of struggling stars earning an extra buck or two by dancing at sangeets? Never mind anti-industry, this bill is anti-joy.

The Big Scroll

Mrinal Pande writes on how weddings in Kumaon brought ritual cash to many pockets.

Political pickings

In Kashmir, the Army chief promises “tough action” against civilians who obstruct the security forces during encounters with militants or fly Pakistani flags.

At a rally in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remembers the attack on Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1984, in which a member of the Congress was allegedly involved.

The Union health ministry is contemplating an audit of doctors’ prescriptions to control the misuse of antibiotics, which has contributed to the growth of bacteria resistant to even the strongest drugs.

Before leaving for jail, VK Sasikala appoints nephews as deputy general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Punditry

In the Indian Express, Jason Burke on how United States President Donald Trump’s Islamophobia threatens to redraw the strategic map of the Middle East.

In the Hindu, Yogendra Yadav parses the electoral reforms promised in the budget.

In the Telegraph, Dipankar Dasgupta on the lasting effects of demonetisation and the perils of going cashless.

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