Love and honour

The Supreme Court couldn’t be clearer in its condemnation of khap panchayats and caste-related injustice,as it held the police and administration directly responsible for letting these acts of vigilante violence continue unpunished. Khap panchayats are Jat social structures in Haryana,UP and Rajasthan that once served as forums for dispute resolution,and hold on to a vestigial authority,mainly used to wreak terrible punishment on those who fall in love with people of the same gotra. They patrol the borders of caste and clan,and they persuade or intimidate families into excommunicating their own,and directly or indirectly provoke honour killings. Despite not having a shred of legal authority,their sway in Haryana is undisputed,and the problem is compounded by a foot-dragging police and administration and a sympathetic political class. Because these structures undergird their electoral calculations,political leaders across Haryana,from Naveen Jindal to Om Prakash Chautala,have urged that khap panchayats be handled with care,that custom and ceremony be respected. The Haryana government suggested,with a straight face,that going after khap panchayats would be a rash step with dangerous consequences for law and order.

However,there has finally been some progress towards dismantling these structures. Last year,for the first time,after the widespread public revulsion over the murders of Manoj and Babli in Haryana,these “honour killings” were answered with a strong conviction for the entire khap panchayat,and it was decided that the Indian Penal Code,Indian Evidence Act and Special Marriages Act would be amended to prise loose their grip. The honour killings bill is likely to be introduced in the next session of Parliament. And now,the SC has thrown its weight behind the move,saying that,apart from criminally prosecuting those responsible for violence,district collectors and superintendents of police who display a reluctance to act should be suspended and chargesheeted as well.

As the SC pointed out,everyone has the right to love and marry whom they want,and families don’t have to approve of these relationships,but they have to let them be. They can glower and sever connection,but they have no larger right on their lives. Khap panchayats,as voluntary civic associations,present no problem — but when they lay down oppressive writs and promise social intimidation and bodily harm to those who smear the caste lines,they have no place in a modern nation.