印度北方邦的一个地区议会近日发布公告，禁止该地区未婚女性携带手机，希望此举能够阻止当地不同种姓间的男女交往过密甚至私奔。据悉，该地区去年有至少23对青年男女离家出走，违背父母意愿在外完婚，而地区议会认为他们主要是通过手机进行联络的。此次发布的公告要求父母全面禁止家中未婚的女孩子使用手机，男孩则要在父母监控下使用手机。传统的印度社会有严格的种姓群族等级区分，不同种姓之间不得来往，更加不得联姻。有些落后地区的家庭甚至不惜夺去跨种姓相爱恋人的性命来维护家族的名誉。

A local council in northern India has banned unmarried women from carrying mobile telephones to halt a series of illicit romances between partners from different castes, media reports said Wednesday.

A local council in northern India has banned unmarried women from carrying mobile telephones to halt a series of illicit romances between partners from different castes, media reports said Wednesday.

The Baliyan council in Uttar Pradesh state decided to act after at least 23 young couples ran away and got married over the last year against their parents' wishes.

"The panchayat (assembly) was convinced that the couples planned their elopement over their cell phones," village elder Jatin Raghuvanshi told the Calcutta Telegraph.

The rules of inter-caste marriages are complicated and extremely rigid in many rural communities in India, with some lovers even murdered in "honour killings" by relatives trying to protect their family's reputation.

"All parents were told to ensure their unmarried daughters do not use cell phones. The boys can do so, but only under their parents' monitoring," said Satish Tyagi, a spokesman for the village assembly.

Caste discrimination is banned in India but still pervades many aspects of daily life, especially outside the cities.

Traditional Hindu society breaks down into brahmins (priests and scholars), kshatriya (soldiers), vaishya (merchants) and shudra (labourers). Below the caste system are the Dalits, formerly known as "Untouchables".

Caste categories often determine Indians' life prospects, and conservative families will only marry within their own caste sub-division.

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(Agencies)

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）