A Cocktail of Crime,Ignorance and Bigotry

For a minute while watching the match between India vs Afghanistan I forgot which team I am supporting. While reason for passing such a antagonistic or hostile statement against my country recalls all the events that’s happening in my home state in my own country. Quite worthy of being called ‘shame for the nation’ which proclaims itself to be a liberal secular sovereign democratic country. I am talking about the shameful deeds of KHAP PANCHAYATS in Haryana which find themselves even above the law of the land. In case you don’t know about these khap panchayats then let me remind you I wouldn’t call them more than a group of orthodox conservative sick people who have been killing and making the life of poor miserable in the name of moral policing and justice. They are not less than any Talibans of Afghanistan who made their own laws and killed people in the name of traditions and customs. Which tradition or culture gives its people the license to kill others or socially boycott them just because they married a person from the same ghotra(sub caste) or from the same village. Isn’t that height of injustice prevailing in the society. Where are the law protectors??

Another incidents of killing of dalits have also been seen which is a disgrace to the nation. The so called JAAT community has to be held responsible for this societal and constitutional imbalance they have created. My opinion is that the atrocities on dalits has to be ascribed to the breakdown of Jajmani system in which there existed the traditional interdependence between the landowning families of peasants castes and the landless agricultural labourer families of dalits, after the advent of Green revolution in the 1970’s. Due to mechanization of agriculture and the consequent decrease in the demand for farm labours and also easy availability of cheaper migrant labour, land owning families of Jaats jettison their traditional labourers of dalits. This liberated the Dalits from the bondage of Jaats and they began to exercise their vote in parliamentary and assembly elections in an independent manner instead of remaining captive vote banks of the land owners. This lead to the emergence of conflict between the two caste and which finally showed up in the form of atrocities on schedule castes. This conflict further aggravated due to reservations in the memberships and chairpersonship of Gram Panchayats, Gram Samitis and Zila Parishads.

In last few years so many cases of honour killings have evolved. Over the last five years the Khap Panchayats , in the guise of maintain the honour and pride of the community, has issued most grotesque, barbarous and extremely disturbing diktats. Such Kangaroo Justice cannot be tolerated. Though no doubts these have existed from 600AD in India and there is lack of efficient judicial system in the country but that doesn’t allow them passing such disturbing dikats and commiting henious crimes of honour killings and social boycott. They advocate their judgements saying a girl cannot perform the dual role of daughter and a Bahu in the same village. Well everyone has the right to choose their marriage partners and who are they to point fingers on them. Even if you have objection against these acts , go to courts and get an ennactment in the Hindu Civil code.

Photo showing Region of Influence of Khap Panchayats


No political party has the courage to take up the cases of honour killings and khap diktats. Moreover there is total absence of law enforcement. Its hard to digest that Haryana one of the most progressing state on economic front is witnessing such social degradation. Lets hope the menace of khap panchayats will be eradicated soon. These must be replaced by progressive panchayat bodies which are in tune with the time and ethos of the state. Untill and unless laws accurately define and punish these anachronism Khap panchayats will continue to brew a poisonous cocktail of crime, ignorance and bigotry.

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Ripudaman Singh
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