This is a significant happening. A community of ‘tribals’ – some of the earliest indigenous Indian ethnic groups who have a special protected status under Indian law – has banned the gifting of gold at weddings.

In social terms, in a country that considers gold a sacred metal, the statement of the panch (five-member community council) calling the gifting of gold a ‘social evil’ is truly astonishing. The panch’s decision was rooted in solid common sense, however. As their official statement noted, the buying of gold (especially at today’s unbelievable prices) for social occasions like weddings and funerals has had the community’s poorest, a subprime category that no Indian banks will lend to, turn to money lenders who charge usurious interest rates. This has lead to almost permanent indebtedness in this group.

That the panch would rather have the money spent on such things as “children’s education and other developmental works,” is truly enlightened. It signals a fundamental change in the way even traditional Indian communities think. It could have far-reaching consequences on gold demand and prices.