In one of the Court cases I came across a Panchayath decision passed by a Community Panchayth, in Mangalore, a place in the southern part of India.. The case was pending in court but the litigating party produced one document styled as a ‘judgment’. It was a shocking experience as the said case which was pending in court for the last over 8 years has been settled in one sitting. The reference is to a decision given by a Community Panchayath. It is a registered Society and membership is open to the people belonging to that community only. They have a Nyaya Mandali which deals with all matters from family disputes to property disputes. Any aggrieved member can send his complaint against any other community member. By and large, most of them are members of the community. The Community Panchayath, after receiving the complaint, sends notices with copies of the complaint to all the parties who have been named in the complaint. They can appear before the Nayay Mandali or Justice Committee of the Community Panchayath with their relatives. The Nyaya Mandali meets at the appointed time date and place ( which is it’s headquarters) and then they read out the Complaint to the opposite Party. The Nayay Mandali is constituted by members who are respected in the community or learned. In this particular Committee there was lawyer, a retired police official, a retired government official and an elderly member. The case referred to them was about a family dispute arising out of a property matter. One brother had agreed to sell the property to his brother by receiving the sale price. But before the sale deed could be executed, the purchaser brother died and the seller brother refused to sell it to his sister in law. Since the price was paid, the widow of the deceased brother had taken her brother in law to court. The Nyaya Mandali found out the truth and arrived at a finding that the property should be transferred to the name of the sister in law. Immediately a consent letter was drafted and the parties signed it. The dispute was settled in no time. The consent letter was produced into court. This is a healthy community Panchayath. They do not digress on anyone’s fundamental rights. They do not impose their diktats but only persuade them to find a solution for the problem.
But of late we are hearing of “ khap panchayaths†and “ honour Killings†made at the behest or the decision of Khap Panchayath. It has therefore become necessary to know what these Khap Panchayaths are and how are they different from the Panchayaths of communities which is prevailing in the South. Before we venture to know the Khap Panchayaths one should know that the community Panchayath referred by me, though is caste based, its membership is not compulsory. One has a choice and even to accept or reject the decision of the panchayath is left to one’s own wisdom. It is not imposed. That is, it is a democratically constituted panchayath, though caste plays a major role in it’s membership.
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Khap Panchayath of the north is different from the one referred above. The question therefore arises is what is a Khap. It is a cluster of villages united by caste, clan which is also known as ‘gotra’ and geography. It was started by upper caste jats to consolidate their power and position about 6 to 7 centuries ago. Khap panchayats are prevalent in Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Parts of Rajasthan.
The 10-15 men who constitute a Khap settle disputes and control the lives of young people. Many village people also defend these caste panchayats as they deliver the verdict in one sitting whereas court cases drag for years. According to them in many cases innocent people get harassed in the court and by police. Here as everyone is known, so they cross check everything to ensure neutrality
The main rule is that all boys and girls within a khap are considered siblings. They are not allowed to marry in the same gotra or even from the same villages. Love marriages are considered taboo in areas governed by Khap panchayats. 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.
Khap panchyat imposes its writ through social boycotts and fines and in most cases end up either killing or forcing the victims to commit suicide. All this is done in the name of brotherhood and its honour It is said that some schools are also forced to have separate timings for the boys and girls. Fearing their daughters would go astray, many parents marry them off at an early age. People have unquestionable faith in the justice of khap.
. One can see clearly how these two panchayaths differ from each other. One is based on democratic system and membership is voluntary whereas the other is based on clan relationship and the membership is thrust as it is based on birth. There is therefore no room for adhering to any democratic procedure for taking any decision. Since the Khap Panchayath enters the household and family system, the members of the community, that too elders dominate the Panchayath decisions. Since in our country, our family system traditionally respect and submit to the decision of the elders The question of rights for women does not exist any where in the territories ruled by Khap Panchayats These could have been controlled if only the villages had democratically elected working Panchayaths and had been allowed to function independently. It is due to the inherent weakness of democratically elected Panchayati Raj institutions ,Khap Panchayats have become powerful. Even the government has not done much to control their power.
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