Khaps and our pollitical system

Khaps are hell bent upon to destroy the social fabric by denying the people to avail their individual freedom enshrined in constitution. These extra constitutional bodies are proving havoc for a just society. However, these are not even socially sanctioned but political class of today's is so timid that it has fallen in the line of these khaps for the fear of loosing their vote bank and this is totally untrue that they have any capacity to influence the voters' behaviour. Actually minds of politicians peep through these conglomeration of hood looms.Every other day a couple in Haryana is butchered and nothing is done against the tormentors. Some times it is felt that we are living in a "murda logon ki basti" (habitation of dead people). Social vibration is missing but only vibration of a mobile phone is known to people. In coming few days we will hear the roar on TV screen and in columns of newspaper on release of census data that will show the huge gap in female population. But girls have lost in the diktats of khaps. Either they are not permitted to take birth and if any how succeeded to see the universe then their journey to youth hood is made miserable. Proper education, nutrition, health facilities remain at bay for her. She is cursed to be treated as an obnoxious weed. It is expected from her that she should be soul less crab and barred to show any emotion. If she dares to see a companion or boy of her age eye to eye , she is branded as lecherous and condemned to torture and in extreme done to death. Every day newly wed couples out of their caste or class are compelled to seek protection for their lives. Strangely enough hyper active media make a news out of them for few days. and when this news item turns old it is thrown in dustbin. No serious efforts are made to have a discussion in the society through any public fora. This chain of atrocities, intolerance and brutality is extending unabated. These unconstitutional bodies should be dealt strongly not on the political front but also isolate such element on social level so that every one could live in accordance with ones will.

Khauf (terror) of khap panchayats

Diktats of khap panchayats seem to rule the rural Haryana rather than rule of law, one of the key pillar of any democratic system and these Tughlaquee diktats are ruining the life of young married couples. Recently few such cases have been the headlines of newspapers. The diktats issued by these kangaroo courts of khap panchayats are writing the fate of married couples and have taken the established justice delivery system at ransom without any written or custom oriented authority completely disregarding the norms governing the private life individuals. Marriage of Satish of Kheri Maham and Kavita of Bhagi-Bahrod was annulled by such socalled khap panchayat and the couple was ordered to be brother-sister despite having a child out of this wedlock. How can a married couple , who has intimate physical relations be brother-sister all of sudden? Do the social and moral ethics permit this? The alamberdars of social values and customs forget the fact that once sexual relations established between a man and woman, they can not be treated as brother-sister even in parlance. Likewise khap panchayat annulled a marriage of a couple of Kheri Ballam and Sundana and ordered their exile from the village. Marriage of Ravi Khanagwal of Khandakheri and Kavita Nagar of Nangthala village was spoiled by hood looms of village citing that marriage is illegal between them because Khanagwal gotra people reside in Nangthala. Couple is curse to face the ignominy rather bliss of honeymoon within hours of tieing the nupital knot.
In all these cases, pathetic attitude of state governmeand its administration is not only appalling but disgusting also. Political class who swears to be saviour of the masses skips its responsibility.Rather protecting people, it showers mute approval to the undemocratic unethical actions of khap panchayats in order to intact their vote bank. It is their duty to oppose each and every such incident and generate a social opinion against such kind of harakiri. Administration time and again (like in earlier cases) prefer to keep mum. It is there duty to implement the rule of law. Administration is responsible for every single individual's life, liberty and privileges. Most of social organizations and NGOs claiming for working of the security and liberty of individuals could not utter a single word against these gory incidents. Only a thin voice of few radical organizations is heard in opposition sporadically. Executive, that all the time harps and insists that judiciary is encroaching upon its field of action, amazingly non-committal for the security and liberty of such victimized couples. Higher Judiciary takes the cognizance of such instances but administration prefer to be mum and lame. The other day, we celebrated the death anniversary of Ch. Ranbir Singh, referred as icon of Indian constitution but we failed to respect and implement the noble ideas enshrined in constitution drafted by these great freedom fighters and law makers. It is the shame on us. Issues of marriage with in gotra is cooked to stress and emphasize their view point rather than any reality. Not even a single marriage has been occurred where both boy and girl belongs to strictly speaking same gotra. Even the gotra of ancestors is isolated as a matter of principle while finalizing a alliance not only in arranged marriages but also in love marriages. As and when such issue is raised, the other gotras of the village are said to be in the degree of isolation. When the marriage between gotras is not forbidden in other parts of the state, then how can the marriage in particular village is taboo. Such marriage alliances are raked up as marriage in the same gotra. Unholy and unrealistic hype is created to make the lives of the couples spoiled in order to brighten chaudhar of a few feudal minded village lords. Social fabric of society is torn for the suitability of a few such chaudhar hungry people. So called village lords with ingrained feudal mind set are allowed to play freely according to their sweet whim and wishes. Time has come, not only government and its administration but also society as a whole has to oppose such tendencies tooth and nail otherwise peace and tranquility of the rural areas will be at stake. Time and again Haryana in general and rural areas in particular are made hunting ground to brighten the leadership of a few disgruntle element who are hell bent upon to spoil the social order. Should we be made victim of such thoughtless minds? Think...........

From Clan to Cage: How Caste Still Chains Northern India

-Ramphal Kataria

From Herds to Honor Killings: How Gotra and Caste Still Rule Northern India

Outwardly, northern India looks modern. Cities gleam, economies boom, women work alongside men, and social media buzzes with talk of equality. Look closer, though, and you see a society shackled by ancient codes—caste, gotra, and village-level hierarchies dictate who you can marry, whom you can love, and sometimes, how you live or die.

From ‘Jan’ to Gotra: A Tool for Survival

Historian Rahul Sankrityayan’s Manav Samaj reminds us that Indian society didn’t start with rigid caste lines. Early humans lived in kinship-based clans called ‘Jan.’ Survival depended on cooperation; economic cohesion was everything.

Gotra, originally a lineage identifier, ensured exogamy—marrying outside one’s clan to prevent genetic defects. It was rational, scientific, and essential for the community’s survival. A tool of social cohesion, not oppression.

When Survival Became Strata: Gotra Hardens into Caste

Agriculture changed everything. Land and surplus created hierarchy. Occupational divisions became hereditary. Gotra, once a simple social device, became embedded in the rigid caste system:

Caste Endogamy: Marry within your caste.

Gotra Exogamy: Marry outside your gotra.

Thousands of tiny social compartments emerged, locking people into identities they did not choose. Mobility shrank, opportunity narrowed, love became regulated.

Invaders, Mughals, and the British: Cementing Rigidity

Aryans, Greeks, Mughals, and the British all left their mark. Mughals centralized administration; British censuses and laws froze identities. Instead of evolving fluidly, caste hardened. Each invader, knowingly or not, left society more introverted, hierarchical, and fragile.

Haryana: Where Modernity Collides with Tradition

Haryana is the perfect case study. The Green Revolution brought prosperity. Urbanization and education bring exposure. Yet, caste often trumps religion, and village-level bhaichara extends incest taboos across entire villages.

Young men and women fall in love across castes—or even within the same gotra—and the reaction is brutal. Khap Panchayats enforce these “honor codes,” sometimes with murder. The tools of kinship have become weapons of control.

Why Change Is Inevitable—and Necessary

The original purpose of Gotra—to prevent inbreeding in small clans—is irrelevant today. Young people are working, studying, and socializing in diverse spaces. Technology, media, and economic independence are forcing new bonds across caste lines.

Society must respond:

Enforce laws protecting individual choice.

Educate communities on the scientific and social irrelevance of rigid Gotra taboos.

Promote inter-caste interactions and economic equality.

The New Social Order Is Coming

Denial only delays the inevitable. The young are forming relationships based on love, compatibility, and shared values, not outdated caste hierarchies. Tradition will clash with modernity, and some will resist violently—but history favors evolution.

Haryana—and northern India at large—stands at a crossroads. The old codes of honor and gotra cannot govern 1.4 billion people anymore. Society will adapt, and the new, humane, inclusive social order is already struggling to be born.

References

1. Dube, S. C. (1990). Indian Society. New Delhi: National Book Trust.

2. Gupta, A. (2020). Caste and cross-region marriages in Haryana: Experience of Dalit cross-region brides in Jat households. Modern Asian Studies. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X200000X

3. Sahapedia. (2024). Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan: The atheist monk. https://www.sahapedia.org/mahapandit-rahul-sankrityayan-atheist-monk

4. Sankrityayan, R. (1948). Manav Samaj [Human Society]. Varanasi: Bihar Hindi Granth Academy.

5. Singh, Y. (1973). Modernization of Indian Tradition. New Delhi: Thomson Press.

6. Times of India. (2023, March 15). Understanding gotras: The ancient lineage system in Hindu culture. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/astrology/others/understanding-gotras-the-ancient-lineage-system-in-hindu-culture/articleshow/110557098.cms

7. Times of India. (2025, June 22). Amend Hindu Marriage Act to curb live-in ties, same-gotra marriages: Haryana sarpanches. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/amend-hindu-marriage-act-to-curb-live-in-ties-same-gotra-marriages-haryana-sarpanches-mahapanchayat-on-june-22/articleshow/121323794.cms

8. AbhyasOnline.in. (n.d.). Caste system in Haryana [Infographic]. https://abhyasonline.in/contents/Haryana%20GK/Haryana%20GK/People%20Of%20Haryana/Caste%20System%20In%20Haryana/