Khap panchayat

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INDIAN EXPRESS  FEB  07 2010
ROHTAK: Though the khap panchayats vow to strengthen the movement against corruption, they were not ready to shed taboos and reiterated their demand for amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act. They also stood firm on not allowing screening of the movie “Khap-A story of honour killing”, in Haryana. The sarv khap mahapanchayat which met in Meham town of Rothak on the invitation of Meham chaubisi khap panchayat adopted four resolutions. While it asserted to join the fight against corruption and also to awaken the society against female feoticide, the panchayats remain adamant on two other issues upon which these had been drawing flak from liberal societies – gotra marriages and acting in manner of kangaroo courts. Pradhan of the Meham chaubisi Randhir Singh, told TOI that they were firm on their demand of a blanket ban on screening of khap, the movie which had shown khap panchayats in negative light. “We will not let a film like this screen in Haryana, which is likely to cast an adverse effect on the society. The government will be responsible for any untoward incident if this movie is screened despite the objection of khap panchayats.” Singh said in second resolution they had urged the Haryana government to make an amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act, which is under the concurrent list to accommodate the prevailing customs of prohibition of same gotra and bhaichara gotra marriages. “The delegation of khaps would meet the chief minister with our demand.” However, waking up to the threat of gender imbalance in the society due to the female feoticide, the khap panchayats stressed on spreading awareness among masses on the issue. “While the government has formulated laws to check the menace, it is the responsibility of khap panchayats and their representative to spread the message against female feoticide. People in villages should keep a track of families of pregnant woman and anybody attempting sex determination and abortion,” the resolution stated. The panchayat supported the Anna Hazare movement against corruption in its fourth resolution and asserted to participate in further agitations on the issue. (Times of India 29/8/11)

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-29/chandigarh/29941084_1_gotra-marriages-khap-panchayats-meham-chaubisi
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A 22-year-old woman in Haryana has thrown the gauntlet at the powerful Jat khap panchayat (village caste council), refusing to follow its diktat to start living with her husband of three years as “brother and sister”. The president of the larger body of khap panchayats has now denounced the diktat as “abhorrent”.

The defiance of Kavita — whose marriage to Satish was summarily declared annulled by the khap panchayat in Rohtak’s Meham Kheri village on January 30 because husband and wife belonged to the same gotra — was reported by The Indian Express on February 6.“I will never agree to their decision,” Kavita, who has a 10-month-old baby and is one of only three women in her village who have a diploma in teacher’s training, had said.

Today, Randhir Singh, chief of the Meham Chaubisi, the umbrella body of khap panchayats in whose jurisdiction the panchayat of Kavita’s village lies, said he strongly disapproved of the diktat.“Let me be very categorical. The manner in which punishment was meted out to the family was abhorrent,” said Singh. “In our view, the marriage was wrong, but the way the Kheri panchayat went about administering its justice was doubly wrong. This is why I have called a meeting on Tuesday (February 9). We want to avoid any sort of violence or unrest.”The area has been tense since Kavita complained to the Rohtak SSP against the khap panchayat’s order, and an FIR was registered against 21 people. The family is now living under police protection.Meham Chaubisi is the most powerful khap panchayat body in Haryana, with influence over 3.5 lakh people. In the early 1990s, Meham Chaubisi had famously and violently stood up to former Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala. Singh, who is in his sixties, is aware of the significance of the decision taken by a Meham Chaubisi panchayat in a state where khap panchayats annulled over 40 marriages in 2009 alone.

Khap panchayat decision ‘abhorrent’, says Haryana caste body president - Indian Express

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