Khap up?

A Karnal sessions court has taken the first step towards dismantling the clutch of khap panchayats. A Jat social structure in Haryana,UP and Rajasthan,a khap is a cluster of several villages and castes. Organised through clans and gotras,they uphold social norms in the community. While they might have provided a kind of rough justice once,they are a terrible force for villagers and townspeople who have no option but to endure the pronouncements,despite the fact that they have no legal justification. Marrying within ones gotra or a set of gotras is one of the worst fears in this set-up,a profoundly destabilising force for which khap panchayats community courts reserve the most dreaded punishment,including death,exile and absolute social stigma. So far,this system of medieval oppression operated with near impunity,given its grip over much of Haryanas traditional society. A few years back in Karora village,two young people,Manoj and Babli,were gruesomely killed for daring to fall in love and marry.

One major hurdle has been the way public officials are reluctant to take on the system,accepting it as a custom,a way of life in the region. Lawmakers and enforcement officers condone the criminality of such actions,ignoring the violent,woman-hating nature of the khaps dictums. Intimidation is easily punishable under the Indian Penal Code,and those who provide it support can be booked for criminal conspiracy. In fact,the worst betrayal is political,because caste solidarity feeds into their votebanks,and real panchayati raj institutions remain weak. The Haryana government opposed the prosecution of khap panchayats under the Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act 1967,arguing that such a rash step would disturb law and order. However,after the Haryana high court took a strong view on the matter,district administrations have made some changes recently suspending a couple of revenue officers in Rohtak for participating in a khap panchayat which declared a married couple brother and sister.

This conviction,therefore,is freighted with significance,and could even be the beginning of the end for the khap panchayats oppressive order.