Shimla, July 23 -- After the rare polyandrous ceremony, locally known as Jodidara, was recently held in Shillai village of Sirmaur district, Congress ministers hailing from tribal areas have defended the tradition which has been declining over the years. The practice took centre stage after two brothers from Hatti tribe, Pradeep and Negi, of Shillai village in Sirmaur district married Sunita Chauhan from nearby Kunhat village on July 12 with celebrations spread over three days. "It is not a new tradition. Polyandry is a part of ancient tribal tradition and culture to keep the land undivided. It is prevalent in parts of Kinnaur and Sirmaur district," said revenue, horticulture and tribal minister Jagat Singh Negi, the MLA from the Kinnaur assembly constituency. Industry minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said, "This is not a new thing for the Trans-Giri region. Now, this practice is decreasing in the new generation. Although only one groom goes to take the bride, but in this case which has gone viral, both grooms took the baraat and that is why this is being talked about." Om Parkash Sharma, Tagore fellow in Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla, and former chairman of Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar Chair (Peeth) at Himachal Pradesh University, said, "This practice was discouraged to check exploitation of women. Though recognised under state revenue laws, the Hindu Marriage Act does not allow multiple marriages." Some segments consider Pandav of Mahabharata to be their ancestors and willingly continue the tradition, said Sharma, adding that state's first chief minister YS Parmar researched on this tradition and discussed the issue in detail in his book "Polyandry in Himalayas". "We should accept and not criticise this tradition. We have given acceptance to live-in relationship as well," said Sharma. Declared a scheduled tribe about three years ago, the small Hatti community, living along the Himachal-Uttarakhand border, has a population of nearly three lakh living in about 450 villages in the region....