A Khap is a community organisation representing a clan or a group of North Indian castes or clans.[1] They are found mostly in northern India, particularly among the village people of Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh, especially Jats and Gurjars. But also amongst states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh[2] although historically the term has also been used among other communities. A Khap Panchayat is an assembly of Khap elders, and a Sarv Khap is an assembly of many Khap Panchayats and usually of different castes.[3][4]
Khaps are not affiliated with the formally elected government bodies and are instead concerned with the affairs of the Khap it represents.[5] It is not affiliated with the democratically elected local assemblies that are also termed Panchayat. A Khap Panchayat has no official government recognition or authority but can exert significant social influence within the community it represents.[6] The Baliyan Khap of Jats as led by Mahendra Singh Tikait until 2011 is one that has gained particular media attention.[7]Dahiya Khap is major khap of Jat community in Haryana.[8][9]
History
The Khaps evolved as tribal and village administrations.One of the terms used to denote the republic was the Khap. Others were Pal, Janapada, and Gaṇasaṅgha.
Khaps have been dated back to the 14th or 15th century, as part of the social structure of the Hindu people, who lived in the region that is now north eastern Rajasthan, eastern Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh.[12] The Jats were originally pastoral, but settled down and became agricultural.[12]
There are historical documentational evidences that reveal the organization of Meerut division's khaps into the sarvkhap panchayat as far back as the 13th century. Haryana Sarwakhap Panchayat was established in 664 A.D.[13] There is also a native belief that claims that King Harshavardhan systematized the sarv–khap panchayat in the 7th century at Prayag (modern Prayagraj) during his quinquennial assemblage.[14]
During British colonial rule, influential khap members were chosen as officials for their local areas.[15]
Structure
The Khap consisted of a unit of 84 villages. The individual villages were governed by an elected council, known as the panchayat. A unit of seven villages was called a Thamba and 12 Thambas formed the Khap unit of 84 villages, though Khaps of 12 and 24 villages existed. Their elected leaders would determine which units would be represented at the Khap level.[citation needed] The Sarv Khap (or All Khap) Panchayat (Council) represented all the Khaps. The individual Khaps would elect leaders who would send delegates to represent their Khaps at the Sarv Khap. It was a political organisation, composed of all the clans, communities, and castes in the region.[citation needed]
Members of khap panchayats are all male, though they often make decisions affecting women. In Haryana, women are not allowed to be present at a panchayat and are represented by their male relatives.[16] Members of Sarva Jaateeya Venain Khap, one of the largest khap panchayats in Haryana, have instead said there are no female khap members because they feel uncomfortable attending, not because they are not allowed.[17]
Decisions on social issues
The Khap Panchayats frequently make pronouncements on social issues, such as abortion, alcohol abuse, dowry, and to promote education,[18] specially among girls.[19] In October 2012, one Khap Panchayat leader in Haryana blamed the eating of chow mein, a non-traditional food, for the rise in rape in India, while another suggested that the age of marriage should be dropped from 18 to 16 because being married would make young women less susceptible to rape.[20][21]
Khaps have attracted attention in recent times for their decisions on marriage.[15] Khaps have opposed marriages between members of different castes, of certain gotras from which intermarriage is prohibited, and of the same village.[6] In July 2000, a panchayat nullified the marriage of Ashish and Darshana, two years after they had married and produced a son, on the basis that they were from two gotras (clans) prohibited to marry, and should have a brother-sister relationship.[16] Punishments handed down by khap panchayats in marriage cases include fines, social ostracism, public humiliation, and expulsion from the village.[6][22]
Due to cultural restrictions around marriage and the skewed sex ratio, families may have difficulty finding suitable brides and occasionally go against gotra marriage prohibitions.[6] There are also cases of men in Haryana who marry lower caste brides without having a khap panchayat be called.[15]
Naresh Tikait, head of Bhalyan Khap, criticized love marriages, saying "Marriage is a union of two consenting families and not just two individuals. So all stakeholders should have a say in that. If parents take all the pains to educate their girls then they also have right over their marriages too."[23]
The largest Khap in Haryana is the Satrol Khap, which allowed inter-caste marriage in 2014,[24] providing the marriage is not within the same gotra, village, or neighbouring villages.[25]
A 2015 Sarv Khap meeting launched a "Save Daughters, Educate Daughter" movement.[26]
The decisions of the patriarchal Khap Panchayats have often been associated with the practice of honour killing.[27] In 2007, a khap panchayat ordered the killing of Manoj and Babli, who married within the same gotra. The two were killed by members of Babli’s family.
Death Sentence in Honour killing: In State Of Haryana v. Ganga Raj[28]- Delivered on 23 March 2010 in the Manoj Babli Honor Killing case, the sessions Judge Vani Gopal Sharma of Karnal district in Haryana has awarded capital punishment under Section 302 IPC (Indian Penal Code) 1860 to five family members of Babli including her brother Suresh, Uncles Rejender, Baru Ram and cousins Satish and Gurdev for killing the couple on 15 June 2007, considering it the "rarest of rare" case and life sentence to the khap (caste panchayat) leader Ganga Raj under Section 302 IPC read with section 120B, IPC for hatching the conspiracy to kill the couple.[29][circular reference][30]
Criticism
In recent times, the Khap system has attracted criticism from groups, citing the stark prejudice that such groups allegedly hold against others. The All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) has reported cases where the Khaps are alleged to have initiated threats of murder and violence to couples who marry outside of the circle.[31][32]
The Supreme Court of India has declared Khap Panchayats to be illegal because they often decree or encourage honour killings or other institutionalised atrocities against boys and girls of different castes and religions who wish to get married or have married.[33]
This is wholly illegal and has to be ruthlessly stamped out. There is nothing honourable in honour killing or other atrocities and, in fact, it is nothing but barbaric and shameful murder. Other atrocities in respect of the personal lives of people committed by brutal, feudal-minded persons deserve harsh punishment. Only this way can we stamp out such acts of barbarism and feudal mentality. Moreover, these acts take the law into their own hands, and amount to kangaroo courts, which are wholly illegal.[33]
In a 2012 report to the Supreme Court, Raju Ramachandran, a Senior Advocate appointed by the Court to assist it in public interest litigation actions against Khap Panchayats, called for the arrest of "self-styled" decision makers and for proactive action by the police to protect the fundamental rights of the people. He also asked for the recommendations to be converted into directions applicable to all states and union territories of India until a law is enacted by the federal parliament.[34]
Power and influence
Despite the criticisms against this institution, it remains popular in some parts of India because, in its benign form, it resolves disputes and achieves social order with less time and resources, compared to the court system which is lengthier and expensive.[15] In addition, taking a case to court may result in community ire.[16]
Sometimes, the Indian government avoids a direct confrontation with the panchayat especially in rural areas.[35] In some cases in Haryana, the police and locally elected leaders have supported the decisions of the khap panchayat.[16]Om Prakash Chautala, the former Chief Minister of Haryana, said in 2004 that "whatever the panchayat decides is right."[16]
There are sources that describe the Khap as an unofficial caste system where the panchayat dominates all other members of the group.[37] Like the function of traditional caste and family systems, this Indian traditional institution engages in dispute resolution and the regulation of members' behaviour.[35] The group uses violence to maintain a rigid structure that controls members particularly, women, Dalits, and youths. The panchayats aggressively push tradition and outlook in which caste divisions are desirable while violence towards lower castes is normal and acceptable.[37] An important Khap ethos involves the commitment – for the good of the community – to work with one's body, heart and soul under the leadership of its leaders, who are believed to have high moral superiority.[38] For this reason, these leaders are afforded the right to demand a member's life.
In Hindu culture, the term gotra is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra forms an exogamous unit, with marriage within the same gotra being regarded as incest and prohibited by custom. The name of the gotra can be used as a surname, but it is different from a surname and is strictly maintained because of its importance in marriages among Hindus, especially among castes. Pāṇini defines gotra as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram, which means "the word gotra denotes the descendance, apatya, of a couple consisting of a pautra, a son and a bharti, a mother, i.e. a daughter-in-law."
Dabas is an exogamous, patrilineal Jat gotra (clan) of India. Among their locales are the Haryana state and Delhi.
Battar or Batar is a clan (gotra) of the Gurjar ethnic community. they are mostly located in the Indian states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Indian-Kashmir and Pakistani areas of Kashmir and Punjab.
Charkhi Dadri is a city and the headquarters of Charkhi Dadri district in the Indian state of Haryana, about 90 km from the national capital Delhi. The town was made by joining the villages of Charkhi and Dadri after urban development. Charkhi Dadri is on NH 148B between Narnaul to Bathinda and NH 348B between Meerut to Pilani segment passing through the city.
Caste-related violence in India has occurred and continues to occur in various forms.
The Manoj–Babli honour killing case was the honour killing of Indian newlyweds Manoj Banwala and Babli in June 2007 and the subsequent court case which historically convicted defendants for an honour killing. The accused in the murder included relatives of Babli. Relatives of Manoj, especially his mother, defended the relationship.
Khap is a 2011 Hindi film starring Yuvika Chaudhary, Om Puri, Govind Namdev, Manoj Pahwa, Mohnish Bahl. Directed by Ajai Sinha, the film is a socio-political drama based on the Manoj-Babli honour killing case and Khap Panchayats in villages of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which order honour killing to prevent marriages within the same gotra.
The first season of Satyamev Jayate was premiered from 6 May 2012 on various channels within Star Network along with Doordarshan's DD National. It marked the television debut of Indian Bollywood actor and filmmaker Aamir Khan. While Hindi is the primary language of the show, it is also dubbed and simulcast in several other Indian languages such as Bengali, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu.
Sisai is a village situated 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from Hansi tehsil in Hisar district in the Indian state of Haryana. The village was established by "Shisram Kaliraman"on whose name the village is named "Sisai". It is a prominent village of Kaliraman Jats and serves as headquarters of Akhil Bharatiya Kaliraman Khap. Kaliraman and Sihag are the gotras of Jats in this village.There are two panas in this village, Sisai Kaliraman and Sisai Bola. Master Chandgi Ram Pehlwan also belonged to this village. It is the largest village not having a police station. Altius and eklvya public schools are proceeding towards making this village "wrestling Hub".
Caste panchayats, based on caste system in India, are caste-specific juries of elders for villages or higher-level communities in India. They are distinct from gram panchayats in that the latter, as statutory bodies, serve all villagers regardless of caste as a part of the Indian government, although they operate on the same principles. A panchayat could be permanent or temporary.
The clashes between the Jat and Muslim communities in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, India and injured 93 and left more than 50,000 people displaced. By date 17 September, the curfew was lifted from all riot affected areas and the army was also withdrawn.
Raj Kumar Saini is an Indian politician. He was the MP of Kurukshetra, Haryana. In 2014 he became a member of 16th Lok Sabha by defeating 2 times MP from Indian National Congress Naveen Jindal.
Prohibition of Unlawful Assembly Bill, 2011 is a proposed legislation in India which intends to check honor killings. It aims to criminalise the intimidation of consenting adults by kangaroo courts for same-gotra marriages, inter-caste, inter-community and inter-religious marriages.
The Jat reservation agitation was a series of violent protests in February 2016 by the Jats of North India, especially those in the state of Haryana, which "paralysed" the state for 10 days. The protestors sought inclusion of their caste in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, which would make them eligible for affirmative action benefits. Besides Haryana, the protests also spread to the neighbouring states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and the National Capital Region.
Khanda is a big & historical village in Kharkhoda tehsil of Sonipat district in Haryana, India. It is located 2 miles (3.2 km) from Kharkhoda and 7 miles (11 km) from Sonipat. It is a part of the Delhi NCR. Khanda has two Gram Panchayats Khanda Khas & Khanda Alman. Two Sarpanchs elects from the village in every five years. Khanda is the head of 12 villages of Dahiya Khap mainly known as.
Kalali is a village and administrative unit with a democratically elected panchayat samiti in the Loharu, Siwani Tehsil of Bhiwani District under Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha constituency and Hisar Division of Haryana state.
Jagmati Sangwan, born 2 January 1960 in Butana village in Sonipat, Haryana, is an Indian activist and a former Central Committee member of the CPI(M). She is an Indian volleyball player who was part of the Indian team that won bronze at the Asian Volleyball Championships. She is the first woman sportsperson to receive the prestigious Bhim Award for outstanding sportspersons in Haryana. She headed the Kisan Mahila Samiti formed by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) to look into issues related to women's safety during the Indian farmers' agitation. Presently, she is the national Vice-President of AIDWA and Rohtak district secretary of the CPI(M).
Dahiya Khap is a Khap of the Dahiya clan of Jats. which itself is a part of the Jat community in Haryana. There are more than 52 villages of Dahiya Jats in the Haryana and the Dahiya clan is the largest among the Jats of the state.
The Mirchpur caste violence also known as the Mirchpur Dalit killings was an incident of violence against the Balmiki Dalits by upper caste Jat villagers in the village of Mirchpur, Haryana on April 21, 2010. A 70-year-old man and his polio affected disabled daughter of 17 years old were burnt alive when a mob of 300 to 1000 Jat villagers set fire to houses in the Balmiki colony where 18 houses were burnt down. 258 Dalit families fled the village over a span of the next eight years.
Sunil Jaglan is an Indian activist working on education and rights of girl child in Haryana. He is the founder of Selfie With Daughter campaign.
↑ Pradhan, M. C. (11 December 1965). "The Jats of Northern India: Their Traditional Political System"(PDF). Economic and Political Weekly. Retrieved 1 August 2020. The sarv–khap Panchayat, according to local belief, was organized in 7th century by emperor Harsha in his lust [sic] quinquennial assembly at Prayag (modern Allahabad.). But from the written historical records it is evident that the various khaps of Meerut Division were organized into the sarvkhap Panchayat as early as 13th century.
1 2 3 4 Kumar, Ajay (28 January 2012). "Khap Panchayats: A Socio-Historical Overview". Economic and Political Weekly. 47 (4): 59–64. JSTOR41419766.
↑ Singh, Gajinder (31 March 2010). "Death for honour killings". Calcutta, India: The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
↑ T.K. Rajalakshmi (17 December 2004). "Caste terror". frontline. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
1 2 Kannabiran, Kalpana; Singh, Ranbir (2008). Challenging The Rules(s) of Law: Colonialism, Criminology and Human Rights in India. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications. p.331. ISBN9780761936657.
1 2 David, Hilda; Jarman, Francis (2017). India Diversity. Om Books International. p.1959. ISBN9789386316974.
↑ Visvanathan, Susan (2013). Readings in Indian Sociology: Volume IX: Culture and Society. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications. p.170. ISBN9788132113904.
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