She gave her hair for her religion because she had nothing else to give.The rich just got richer,4...

Many Indian women give their hair for their religion because they have

nothing else to give.Little do they know that cunning businessmen are

making themselves very wealthy by selling the hair to the west for use

as hair extensions and wigs.USA $ 100,000 for 4 kilos, not bad if you

don,t have a conscience.Thanks fore looking.Some Indian nationals do

not like me showing this side of India and are retaliating by giving

me 3/3,s,does not worry me it needs to be shown,and a book will be

forthcoming later in the year on the poverty in India.

Thanks for highlighting my country so well, Birte. I know there are people who do not like many facets of India to be displayed but they are rather like ostriches. I am sure you know more about the "hair-trade" than I do.

What I do know is that among Hindus, shaving the head is associated with various religious connections. Even three or four generations ago, widows shaved off the hair and (almost) shut themselves off from the rest of the world. They wore a plain white sari (the dress in this photo), ate vegetarian and pretty much stayed away from festivities. Things have changed a lot with more people being educated but I would not be surprised if this practise is still prevalent in many rural areas.

Among Hindus, the son shaves his head after the death of a parent. Hair is also offered to the gods in places like Varanasi (and given the amount of corruption prevalent, I would not be entirely surprised if religious sentiment was converted to easy cash).

I'm sure you know much of what I have written, but this is for many users of this site who may not be fully aware. Hinduism is more a way of life than a religion but has practices borne out of tradition and belief (and elements of superstition). Regards.

To many this is a religious sacrifice and that I am fine with, but to many more it also is a last ditch attempt to save their home from being repossessed or to pay other debts. To me it is the ultimate in exploitation. The hair is casually tossed into a bin, but it will never actually be thrown away. They do not know it, but soon their pigtails and plaits will be sold to hair dealers who fly in on private jets from Italy and then these profiteers resell  and  ship their valuable merchandise to the salons of the USA and Europe. 

I don't think that sacrificial hair sold of to bald Yanks is that much of a problem really. There are bigger problems in India that the country needs to address, vast disparity of wealth, revisionism and religious tensions, corruption within the government machinery and exploitation of natural resources by few, to say the least. What your comments highlight is that photography can be submerged in the political polemic as much as any other human expression. You do show rather a different side to India. I would not have felt the need to comment on your otherwise rather good and colourful image had there not been the added explanation attached to it. Best wishes