Editor Opinion » Lead Published: May 7, 2010 23:03 IST | Updated: May
7, 2010 23:07 IST May 7, 2010
Khap panchayat: signs of desperation?
Jagmati Sangwan
The Hindu An All castes (Khap) Maha Panchayat in progress in
Kurukshetra. File Photo: Akhilesh Kumar
The number of cases in which the totally unconstitutional caste
panchayats have openly defied the law of the land by issuing illegal
diktats has increased manifold.
In Haryana today, rapid capitalist transformation is accompanied by a
regressive feudal consciousness. As education and political awareness
spread among Dalits, women and backward sections, alongside there is a
massive consolidation of caste (khap) panchayats in defence of the
status quo. The number of cases in which the totally unconstitutional
caste panchayats have openly defied the law of the land by issuing
illegal diktats has increased manifold. Attacks on young couples,
Dalits and progressive-minded people have become frequent.
A recent landmark judgment by the Additional Sessions Court at Karnal
in the Manoj-Babli "honour" killing case, in which five accused were
given the death sentence, sent shock waves among caste panchayat
leaders, as it reminded them that they were not above the
Constitution. The court took serious note of the fact that the
policemen deployed for the security of Manoj and Babli actually
facilitated the accused in perpetrating the crime.
Though geographically small, Haryana is socially and culturally
heterogeneous. For example, in some areas and among certain castes,
marriages within the village and even intra-gotra marriages are not
uncommon. At the same time, such marriages are treated as incest in
certain other areas, and among other castes. Even the caste or khap
panchayat is not a feature prevalent throughout the State, as many
believe, but is confined to a particular region. Thus, a section of
people of one particular caste proclaims itself as the cultural
representative of Haryana, refusing to acknowledge the customs and
traditions practised by others in their own neighbourhood.
A look at the demography of the State and its development statistics
would help to contextualise the problem. The State that stood second
in per capita income in the country has one of the lowest sex ratios
(821 in the 0-6 age group). Female foeticide is rampant, and the
situation is so bad that wives are being brought from far off States.
Not once have these panchayats called a maha-panchayat to pass a
resolution against female foeticide or dowry or even in connection
with the crisis in agriculture — problems staring the people of
Haryana in the face.
After the judgment in the Manoj-Babli case, however, a congregation of
caste panchayats representing the Jat neighbourhoods from Haryana,
Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan was called at Kurukshetra on April 13. It
was decided that panchayats would now fight for legal status to
legitimately maintain the "social order." One of the main agendas of
this sarv-khap panchayat was to push for amendments to the Hindu
Marriage Act, 1955 that would ban marriages within the same gotra
(clan within which men and women are considered siblings and hence
cannot marry). Under this Act, marriages between certain lineages from
the paternal and maternal sides are already barred.
Most of the khap panchayat diktats are against couples who are not
from the same gotra. In fact, not more than one case of honour killing
has been of a couple within the same gotra. By creating the false
impression that all marriages of choice between young couples are
incestuous, what the khaps are actually opposing is the right to
choose a marriage partner. Among the several instances of khaps
issuing fatwas in Jaundhi, Asanda, Dharana, Singhwal, Hadaudi,
Maham-kheri, Ludana and other villages, not a single one was an
intra-gotra marriage, yet the married couples were declared siblings,
and families made to suffer boycotts and excommunication from their
villages.
A sad example of the gotra row is that of Ved Pal Moan, brutally
beaten to death last year when he tried to secure his wife who was
confined by her parents at Singhwal village in Jind district. He was
escorted by a police party and a warrant officer of the High Court.
Ved Pal had married neither within his gotra nor within the same
village. In this case, another absurd code was invoked by the khap:
that the couple violated the custom of not marrying in the
neighbouring village as it forms part of bhaichara (brotherhood). A
khap congregation held in March 2009 publicly pronounced the death
sentence for Ved Pal, and it succeeded in executing it in June. As
couples are selectively targeted, it is clear the real motive is to
control women's sexuality to ensure that property remains within the
patriarchal caste domain (mainly Jats in Haryana).
The sarv khap panchayat also called for social boycott of individuals
who raised their voice against the caste panchayats. A former police
chief of Haryana, himself a self-styled caste leader, went on record
threatening khap-critics. How can a former DGP publicly threaten
law-abiding citizens, and yet continue to enjoy the hefty perks and
pension out of the public exchequer?
The caste panchayat leaders have decided to stifle any voice of
assertion from the backward sections. On April 21 more than 20 houses
of Dalits were burnt down at Mirchpur village, in the presence of a
police force, allegedly by thugs belonging to a dominant caste,
resulting in the death of an 18-year-old handicapped girl and her
ailing father. A panchayat of khaps convened at Mirchpur three days
after the carnage not only declared all arrested persons innocent but
also issued an ultimatum to the government for their release! This was
exactly the pattern adopted by caste panchayats in the Gohana (2005)
and Duleena (2002) incidents, where brutal attacks on Dalits took
place.
Even elders from socially and economically weaker families are not
spared. At Khedi Meham in December 2009, the father of a newly wed
groom was forced to hold a shoe in his mouth in front of the whole
village by the panchayatis. Ordinary citizens are caught in the
contradiction between two sets of values — the blind consumerism of
the neo-liberal dispensation, and the outdated feudal values
represented by the khaps. The first is no replacement for the second,
and indeed, pseudo-modernism only strengthens the forces of
revivalism. The alternative to both types of distortions lies in the
spread of healthy and progressive values that can be unleashed through
only a new social reform movement in the entire Hindi belt.
Limited but crucial role
The judiciary does have a crucial role to play but has its limitations
too. On June 23, 2008 Justice K.S. Ahluwalia of the Punjab and Haryana
High Court made a revealing observation while simultaneously hearing
10 cases pertaining to marriages between young couples aged 18 - 21:
"The High Court is flooded with petitions where … judges of this Court
have to answer for the right of life and liberty to married couples.
The State is a mute spectator. When shall the State awake from its
slumber [and] for how long can Courts provide solace and balm by
disposing of such cases?" A legislature with little political will and
a pliant executive will have to be made responsive under pressure of a
mass movement.
The voices of dissent are also getting consolidated under the umbrella
of organisations like the AIDWA and other democratic forces. The
younger generation must stand forth as responsible social activists
and lead the struggle for change in an otherwise feudal society that
lives by the dictum "Jiski lathi uski bhains" (the powerful call the
shots). In Haryana each passing day is costing the lives of innocent
women and men.
(The author is Director, Women's Study Centre, Maharishi Dayanand
University, Rohtak, and State President of AIDWA, Haryana.)
------------------------------------
----
INFORMATION OVERLOAD?
Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/
PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com
TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:-
If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/
Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
ZESTCaste-digest@yahoogroups.com
ZESTCaste-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ZESTCaste-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
No comments:
Post a Comment