Uttarqkhand 163
The inhabitants of Fatehparvat, like their counterparts in
Jaunsar, still follow the example of their ancestors and live in a
polyandrous society where wives are priced and exchanged freely.
But it is strange that in spite of widespread polyandry, the
family ties are bounded and glued together and have thus helped
in keeping the population under check and arresting the fragmen-
tation of land which is already so scarce.
The condition of women is worse due to polyandry and exces-
sive physical toil.
The people of this Gods Valley are still steeped in superstition,
orthodoxy, disease and sexual complication which has accounted
for poor education and consequential backwardness.
Now, with the wave of new roads reaching distant places,
civilisation is knocking at their doors, and the day is not far
when Hari Ki Doon will be easily approachable and accessible
;to all.