Image copyright Hindustan Times Image caption Nearly 700 brides received the bats at a mass marriage ceremony 
 
 Hundreds of brides at an Indian mass wedding have been given wooden bats and urged to use them as weapons if their husbands turn abusive. 
 
 Messages such as "for use against drunkards" are written on the paddles, which measure about 40cm (15in) and are more traditionally used for laundry. 
 
 Gopal Bhargava, a state minister in Madhya Pradesh, said he wanted to highlight the issue of domestic abuse. 
 
 He told the women to try to reason with their husbands before using them. 
 
 But if their spouses refuse to listen, they should let the paddles - known as mogri and usually used to beat dirt out of clothes - "do the talking", he said. 
 
 Savings 'spent on liquor' 
 
 Mr Bhargava posted pictures of the brides with the bats on his Facebook page. 
 
 He told AFP news agency that he had become concerned about the numbers of rural women who faced abuse from alcoholic husbands. 
 
 "Women say whenever their husbands get drunk they become violent. Their savings are taken away and splurged on liquor," he said. 
 
 Image copyright Hindustan Times Image caption Messages such as "for use against drunkards" are written on the paddles 
 
 "There is no intent to provoke women or instigate them to violence but the bat is to prevent violence." 
 
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 Mr Bhargava, of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, says he has ordered 10,000 bats in total. 
 
 Nearly 700 brides received them at a mass marriage ceremony in his hometown of Garhakota at the weekend. 
 
 Mass weddings are offered in India to help low income couples tie the knot without having to pay for their own event. 
 
 Local media suggested it was a move to garner support ahead of state elections next year. 

 The legal marriage age for girls in India is 18, but millions of children are married when they are much younger, particularly in poor rural areas (AFP Photo/SAM PANTHAKY) 
 
 New Delhi (AFP) - An Indian state minister has given hundreds of wooden bats to newly-wed brides, urging them to use the paddle as a weapon if their husbands turn alcoholic or abusive. 
 
 Gopal Bhargava gave the bats -- which are used to get dirt out of clothes in traditional laundries -- to nearly 700 brides at a mass wedding organised by the government of central Madhya Pradesh state on Saturday. 
 
 The nearly foot-long paddles are emblazoned with messages that read: "For beating drunkards" and "Police won't intervene". 
 
 Bhargava told the brides to reason with their husbands first, adding that they should "let the wooden paddles do the talking" if their spouses refuse to listen. 
 
 Bhargava told AFP he wanted to draw attention to the plight of rural women who face domestic abuse from their alcoholic husbands. 
 
 "Women say whenever their husbands get drunk they become violent. Their savings are taken away and splurged on liquor," he said. 
 
 "There is no intent to provoke women or instigate them to violence but the bat is to prevent violence." 
 
 The minister has ordered nearly 10,000 bats for distribution to newly-wed women. 
 
 Many Indian states have launched a crackdown on liquor in recent years, either banning or restricting its sale in a bid to curb alcohol-fuelled violence. 
 
 Last year, the government of Tamil Nadu state vowed to introduce prohibition as part of its campaign to win re-election. 
 
 The pledge was popular with women voters, who blame alcohol for much of the state's domestic and sexual violence, and for depleting the income of poor families. 
 
 Experts have expressed caution, pointing to a possible rise in the production of illegal and often deadly moonshine. 
 
 The neighbouring southern state of Kerala introduced a ban on alcohol sales in most hotels from 2014. 
 
 Eastern Bihar state imposed a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol last year while western Gujarat state has practised prohibition for decades. 

 As far as wedding presents go, this is as bizarre as it gets. 
 
 Madhya Pradesh’s panchayat and rural development minister Gopal Bhargava has presented washing bats to newly-wed women, asking them to put the wooden plank to “good use” if their husbands come home drunk. 
 
 “If your husband or any other member of family comes home drunk, treat him with it,” he said, addressing brides-to-be at a mass-marriage ceremony he hosted in his hometown of Garhakota on Saturday. 
 
 Across Madhya Pradesh such weddings were organised on Akshay Tritiya, an auspicious day for Hindus and Jains, on Saturday. The state’s backward and parched region of Bundelkhand, where women are campaigning against liquor, too, saw such marriages. 
 
 Bhargava presented some household items to the couples to help them set up home. The gift basket had a special present for the bride - a message scribbled washing bat. 
 
 “Sharabiyon ke sutara hetu bhent (a gift to keep drunks in check),” reads a message printed in bold blue. 
 
 The minister seems to have thought things through. Putting to rest fears of punishment for use of violence, the message on the reverse side in red assures, “Police nahi bolegi (Police will not say anything)”. 
 
 He asked the women to check brewing of illicit liquor in their areas and asked them to use bats if they failed to get help from officials. 
 
 A mass-marriage ceremony was hosted by the minister in his hometown of Garhakota on Saturday. (HT Photo) 
 
 The minister’s message seemed to have hit home. 
 
 “I am happy that the minister thinks of empowering women against ill effects of liquor. In many villages, husbands beat up their wives when drunk and ruin their family life,” Hari Bai, one of the brides, said. 
 
 Grooms, too, swore off liquor and other intoxications. 
 
 There is a political message as well. 
 
 The minister’s son, Abhishek, has been at the forefront of an anti-liquor campaign in Bundelkhand, much to the discomfort of the state government. 
 
 He has demanded a complete ban on liquor in the state. In the last one month, Bundelkhand has seen several demonstrations, mostly led by women protesting against the shifting of liquor vends from national and state highways and banks of the Narmada river to residential areas. 
 
 Liquor is one of the biggest sources of revenue but some states have banned or restricted its sale. 
 
 The Supreme Court has banned liquor vends within 500 metres of national and state highways to prevent drink driving. Several states have renamed roads to circumvent the top court order that aims to make India’s notoriously accident prone roads safe.
– A wooden bat: not exactly the first thing to come to mind when you think "wedding gift," but that is indeed the wedding gift that hundreds of new brides in India recently received from the state minister of Madhya Pradesh. The actual purpose of the 15-inch-long, paddle-shaped bats is to beat dirt out of clothes at a laundry, but the minister instructed the brides to use them to beat their husbands should the men become abusive or alcoholic. Of course, Gopal Bhargava told the women, first they should try to talk things out with their husbands, but the bats can be used if that tactic doesn't work, the BBC reports. The paddles even came bearing special messages: "For beating drunkards" and "Police won't intervene," AFP reports. They were given out to almost 700 brides at a government-organized mass wedding Saturday. Bhargava tells the AFP he's trying to raise awareness of domestic abuse that can plague women in rural areas. "Women say whenever their husbands get drunk they become violent," he explains. "Their savings are taken away and splurged on liquor." He told the brides they could also use the bats against other drunk family members, the Hindustan Times reports. He ordered almost 10,000 more bats to give away to newlyweds in the future. Other Indian states are taking more traditional steps to combat alcohol abuse, such as cracking down on liquor sales. (You can register for pizza as a wedding gift.)