Under NGO pressure? Hotel chain's patriarchal check-in policy seeks marriage certificate from couples

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak

OYO Rooms, also known as OYO or OYO Hotels & Homes, is a successful Indian multinational budget accommodation and hospitality chain that operates through leased properties and franchised hotels, homes, and living spaces. The company has recently updated its check-in policy, which now prohibits unmarried couples from checking into its properties. Under the new guidelines, couples are required to provide proof of their relationship status to complete the check-in process. This policy was initially introduced in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, following demands from local civil society groups. OYO is considering expanding this policy to other cities in India, depending on feedback from similar groups across the country.

There are several fundamental questions OYO must address before implementing such a regressive, discriminatory, and potentially illegal policy. The majority of marriages in India are arranged marriages, and most of these are not officially registered. In such cases, where are couples supposed to obtain marriage certificates or proof of marriage? What other valid documents would meet the requirements of OYO’s patriarchal check-in policies? Is India governed by civil society groups? No, India is governed by its constitutional and democratic legal systems, not by pressure from civil society groups. Who exactly are these civil society groups? Civil society is meant to promote citizenship rights and strengthen democracy, not restrict it. Yielding to the demands of these so-called civil society groups is a reactionary, backward step that undermines the fundamental rights of Indian citizens, especially adult students, youth, and women. Additionally, which law prohibits two consenting adults from staying together in a hotel or at home? If two unmarried adults agree to stay together, what exactly is the problem?

The answers to the above questions lie within the patriarchal narrative that differentiates between married and unmarried couples under a regressive caste, class, and race-based heteronormative social structure. Most of the time, arranged marriage in India is not merely a union between two free individuals exercising personal choice; rather, it is an institution designed to uphold and conform to reactionary, feudal social norms and family expectations. These norms are rooted in religious dogma, social class, skin colour, caste hierarchies, socio-economic status, and even unscientific beliefs such as horoscopes. In such an environment, individuals are compelled to surrender to feudal, patriarchal, and regressive institutions, where personal freedom to choose one’s own life partner is sacrificed. This stagnant and outdated institution stands in direct opposition to social progress and resists change founded on progressive, democratic, liberal and secular values rooted in individual liberty and equality.

There is a fundamental dichotomy between arrange marriage and love marriage. Friendship, freedom, individual choice, mutual attraction and freedom to break away from the relationship plays a vital role in love marriages which defies regressive social, religious and cultural norms shaped by racialised caste and class based social, economic and cultural order. According to a 2020 survey titled “Marriage Preferences in India 2020, by Generation”, published by Dr. Manya Rathore on July 10, 2023, in Statista, 62.3% of Millennials and 69.2% of Generation Z prefer love marriages over arranged marriages. Only 37.7% of Millennials and 30.8% of Generation Z favour arranged marriages.

These statistics on marriage preferences pose a direct threat to the reactionary and feudal foundations of arranged marriage, which are upheld in the name of family, social, cultural, economic, and religious honour. As a result, in the name of civil society groups, these uncivil people and reactionary groups have risen in opposition, seeking to suppress every possible avenue that promotes an environment where Millennials and Generation Z in India can meet, eat, sleep, socialise, date, and stay together freely. The patriarchal and perverse geriatrics view young people merely as sexual objects who stay together solely for sexual pleasure in OYO rooms and hotels. By surrendering to such a perverted imagination, OYO’s decision aligns with geriatric patriarchy and its regressive values, further reinforced by the reactionary political forces of the day.

These regressive forces in the name of civil society groups are dictating whom to meet, where to meet, what to wear, how to dress, what to eat, whom to choose, love, marry and where to sleep—all in the name of preserving Indian culture. Such backward measures not only seek to domesticate individuals and restrict their freedom but also erode India’s progressive values, along with its democratic and constitutional ethos. OYO’s discriminatory policy directly contradicts India’s liberal, democratic, and constitutional values, as well as its progressive cultural heritage, which celebrates and venerates the romance of Radha and Krishna.

So, Oyo’s decision to bar unmarried couples from its properties in certain cities in India reflects the forward march of a regressive ideology rooted in the entrenched culture of patriarchy, which fundamentally discriminates against women, adult students, and the youth of India. This move infringes upon the personal liberties of young people, particularly targeting women and the youth. The state and government, influenced by Hindutva politics, have failed to curb such practices, which undermine efforts to strengthen citizenship, democracy, and constitutional rights in the country. Gender insensitive technological advancements and platform companies have not ended patriarchy; instead, they have revived such a regressive ideology in a technological form. Opposition to all forms of regressive ideology is essential for deepening democratic equality, liberty, and citizenship rights in the country.

The idealism of youth has historically defeated all forms of feudal and fascist forces across the world. In India, countless young people sacrificed their lives to overthrow feudal and colonial powers. Thus, history serves as a promise to the present and future generations of Indian youth, inspiring them to reclaim their past glories by challenging the current feudal and patriarchal forces. Through meeting, eating, dating, and forming relationships based on love, friendship and India’s liberal, progressive, and democratic values, young people can revive and celebrate these ideals, ultimately defeating the reactionary, religious, cultural, and discriminatory forces that seek to control and domesticate them.

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