The growing clout of the khap panchayats in Haryana can be gauged from the fact that Baljit Singh Malik, chief of Gathwala khap and three other khaps, has demanded the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) be amended to prevent marriages within the parent gotras.
Speaking at a discussion on khap panchayats, Mr Malik said, “Khap panchayats are demanding that the HMA be amended to prevent marriages taking place in the mother’s and father’s gotras.”
Khap panchayats and their members now form 27 per cent of the votebank in Haryana and with panchayat elections around the corner feel they can make a decisive impact. It is for this reason that Mr Malik asserted that the khap panchayats were not responsible for any honour killings in Haryana.
Supreme Court advocate and former member of the law commission, Kirti Singh countered this stand by pointing out that the HMA allows marriages between all gotras but “prohibits spindas” which bars three generations on the mother’s side and five generations on the father’s side.
Mr Singh also wanted the HMA to be changed to allow individuals the right to choose who they want to marry, when and if they want to marry as also a ban against forced marriages.
Mr Singh believes the government needs to strengthen the HMA to prevent khap panchayats from taking arbitrary decisions.
“Surely, the Indian Penal Code needs sharper teeth to deal with the perpetrators of gotra-based killings,” he added.
Historian Prem Chowdhary, member of the Indian Council of Historical Research and member of the Natrional Commission of Women, pointed out that hundreds of young couples wanting to get married in Haryana are seeking protection from the courts. “In the lower judiciary, their cases are getting registered but in the high court 50 per cent of the cases go unregistered.” Mr Chowdhary said.