In pursuit of honour

The structure and extra-constitutional authority of khap panchayats, who recently declared that their rulings could not be fettered even by the Constitution of India or the law of the land have been the subject of considerable national debate. Khaps are geographically confined mainly as old systems of social administration in villages of

north-western India, including Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, National Capital Region and parts of western Uttar Pradesh. Traditionally, one unit of a khap would take care of the social affairs of about 84 villages from the same caste and was intended to promote bhaichara or brotherhood, among the community. In some cases they were instrumental in controlling or prohibiting the sale of liquor. However, in many other cases they have become a collection of caste lords who perpetuate their own law and diktat in village society and assume the custodianship of the “honour” of the women belonging to the area.
Khaps claim that sagotra marriages, or marriages between young persons who belong to the same gotra, cannot be sanctioned as they are considered incestuous. On some particularly brutal occasions, khaps have been known to force a wife to tie rakhi to her own husband, thereby accepting her husband as a “brother”. At the same time, khaps are adamantly opposed to inter-caste marriages as they are committed to the rigid maintenance of caste divisions in village society and the infinite perpetuation of those divisions.
Needless to say, the khaps and other similar village social arrangement such as even the Dorbars in Meghalaya, are comprised solely of adult males, usually village elders. Women are not eligible or worthy of being members of this peer group. Inasmuch as these social khaps encourage brotherhood (note: NOT sisterhood or social harmony) they were a time-honoured part of the social structure of a village. They settled land disputes between families and other feuds regarding inheritance and property. They were courted by political formations because they represented the collective strength of that community and hence a powerful votebank.
However, the recent spate of violence and khap-ordained “honour killings” are a cause for dismay in the minds of right thinking citizens. The fact that village life is governed by caste is a reality that every Indian lives with. The fact also that we dream of a society free of divisions of caste and creed is a goal which we constantly struggle to attain while grappling every day with the might and power of the feudal mindset that perpetrates caste. If we are thinking about a caste census today, it is only at this point a mere collection of data without analysis because while there can be no harm in collecting data to ensure for example benefits reserved by the state for backward sections of society reach their target group, the analysis of the data should be done after a national debate, a national consensus and considerable thought in order to avoid the danger of creating a permanently divided society. Thus when khaps promote bhaichara or fraternity, they serve a social purpose. However, when the selfsame khaps assume unto themselves extra-constitutional powers and decree death for those who indulge an sagotra marriages or inter-caste marriages, they challenge the Constitution and the criminal laws of this country and that can never be tolerated in a democracy which reveres the rule of law.
Thus when the Karnal sessions court awarded the death penalty to five persons who had ordered the “honour” killing of Babli and Manoj, khap leaders in Kurukshetra declared themselves to be more bound to the khap than the Indian Constitution and announced that no law or court in the land could deter them from their murderous intent. This is a direct challenge to the rule of law in our country and cannot be tolerated by any democracy. The political system urgently needs to join hands to put down this challenge to our Constitution and ensure that no feudal group challenges our Constitution with impunity. This is a problem which is bigger than caste or society and goes to the root of the sustainability of our legal and constitutional system.
However, a look at the larger picture is truly scary. Khaps have been in the news and so has the recent death of educated young journalist Nirupama Pathak, who was allegedly murdered for having dared to love a boy from a different caste.With the family’s role in the death being alleged, it is appalling that this was not a khap but a normal family that reacted violently to the idea of their young daughter wanting to marry a man they disapproved of. Thus it is not just the khaps, but even a single educated family which is intolerant of their daughter choosing her own husband, which is provoked into brutally killing her. It is time now for us to ask ourselves what is wrong with our society. Have we forfeited the right to call ourselves civilised?
The single thread that runs through the whole frightening violence related to so-called honour killings is the notion prevalent in every single section of society — rich or poor, urban or rural, educated and otherwise — is that the “honour” of a caste, family or even religion depends upon the sexuality of its women. In the modern context, this deep-held belief is discriminatory and unfair and is the reason why the wars of present-day India are fought upon the bodies of women.
For example, if a woman belonging to one religion is raped by some criminals who happen to belong to another religion, instead of taking urgent steps to ensure exemplary punishment of those criminals, a mob belonging to the victim’s religion gathers and rapes women belonging to the religion of the attacker. Thus all the women are blameless but they are the greatest sufferers. We fail to see that the wrongdoer should be punished, not women belonging to the other religion who are absolutely innocent. Similarly, in caste wars, it is again the “chastity” and “honour” of women which are often the cause for dissension, often leading to the death of the woman.
Modern India has no place for gender chauvinism and “honour” killings. Caste and religion have to be viewed as distinct from crimes against women and above all, the Constitution of India should reign supreme. Our credentials as a civilised society depend upon this.

Jayanthi Natarajan is a Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha and AICC spokesperson.
The views expressed in this column are her own.