Recently I wrote on Khap and asked whether khap is ‘pap’ ( or sin.) The difficulties the families who are forced to accept the decisions of Khap make one think that to be a member of such a society is ‘pap’ and not a god’s blessings.
Why these Khaps function in a dictatorial manner and what is the strength which makes them act in that way. For this one should know that how these khaps are constituted. They are based on the clan connections, that is, on the basis of their gotra (clan or lineage ). They are same gotra (clan) families from several neighbouring villages. Khap Panchayats are prevalent in Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Parts of Rajasthan..Those living in a Khap are not allowed to marry in the same gotra or even in any gotra from the same village .Many young couples have been killed in the past defying khap rules.
What is this term gotra which is the basis for this khap. For this, I referred to several materials and ultimately decided to write this article. Gotra is a term applied to a clan, a group of families, or a lineage – exogamous and patrilineal who trace their lineage to a common ancestor, usually rishi or sage of ancient times. based on Y-Chromosome factor which it is said is a set of characters bio-coded and preserved in Male Chromosome. The uniqueness of Y-Chromosome is transferred and thus preserved the characteristics of a rishi. It is believed and perhaps it can be proved scientifically that most of the male Y-chromosome is passed intact from father to son. Females do not carry the Y-chromosome. Genetically there was transference of some unique characteristics
The origin of this concept of Gotra also seems to lie in a tribal system and is linked to the system of common ownership of property. The word Gotra literally means cowpen or cowshed and is derived from “Go” meaning cow. In Sanskrit ‘gotra’ means ‘ lieneage) With the domestication of animals, cattle became an important source of meat and milk. With the rearing of cattle, hunting as the principal source of subsistence lost its importance and the lifestyle became less nomadic as compared to the earlier days when hunting was the main activity of sustenance. With the coming of a pastoral way of life, it was possible to have individual ownership of the means of subsistence which was impossible during the days of hunting.
But the older practice of holding property in common could not die out abruptly. Even in a pastoral society the principal means of subsistence – cattle – continued to be held as common property. The members of a tribe had one object for solidarity and this was the cattle they held in common. While in a society of hunters, the prisoners of wars and other fellow travellers could either be sacrificed or absorbed into the tribe so as to increase the strength of the hunt party; the pastoral society ruled out such absorption of new members who would only be additional mouths to be fed. The tribe henceforth became an endogamous clan which kept outsiders out and insiders in. But the endogamous clan still retained some features of the tribal way of life like common ownership of property (and promiscuity). This new solidarity that emerged from the common ownership of cattle, acquired the name Gotra from its very nature. Sexual pairing was limited to member of a Gotra. This form of pairing was termed Sagotra. Our present day prohibition on marriage within one Gotra is a later development. The shift from pairing within a Gotra to prohibition on marriage between two members having the same Gotra must be a result of a variety of factors.
As long as this confusion survived, society must have been matriarchal as the mother would have been the only identifiable parent. But with the rising productivity and gradual emergence of individual holding of property, this way of life had to make way for another.
The title to the increasing hoard of wealth was held by male members of a clan due to their being the physically dominant sex. It was the efforts of the more powerful males that won for the clan the property of other clans and also enabled defense of their own property from being grabbed by other clans. With the gradual increase in productive power, the acquisition of slaves etc. The title to property also changed from being collective to individual. This change in the title to property from communal to individual must have been the result of evolution over hundreds of years. But why did this change have to prohibit the established practice of marriage within a Gotra
Exogamy means the custom of marrying outside the tribe, family, clan, or other social unit. This will help in the fusion of two gametes ( a mature sexual reproductive cell having a single set of unpaired chromosomes ) that are not closely related. Hence will preserve the Y-Chromosome which is carried from generations to generations.
Scientifically it is said that the male Y-chromosome is passed intact from father to son. Females do not carry the Y-chromosome. Genetically there was transference of some unique characteristics only from father to son (in the form of Y- Chromosome.) That is how the gotra of the bride and bridegrrom are compared and as sated above marriage between the sagotra or of the same gotra are not allowed. But our Hindu Marriage Act does not prohibit sagotra marriages that is between the same lineal descendants, though it prohibits sapinda marriages, that is between lineal descendants. A community called Gowda Saraswat Brahmins does oppose sagotra marriages. But our ancestors felt that sagotra marriage has a better chance of generating mentally retarded or physically handicapped children or at least children of less intellectual capacity. Hence they opposed it.
This shows that our ancestors way back about 5000 years ago were conversant with the effect of endogamous and exgamous marriages. They followed the gotra, though in the beginning for preserving their wealth, later on it became a social norm in the alleged interest of the social structure and social well being. We shall see next time how this tradition became a point of pain later on or how khap became a pap.