khap..a concept

Today.. news came about khap panchayat banning women to wear jeans.

it was hilarious and ridiculous to many of us twitterati . But it's not just laughing stuff when they kill couples based on the concept of same gotra marriage.

Few months ago.. there was outcry over many such killings in parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan.. Ironically media gave it the name "honour killings" when in fact how can there be any honour in killings? People were outraged over how can such ridiculous thing is still happening in modern India.. They were surprised and angered.

But this anger was manifested more in urban India.. on net.. in media houses.. the area where these killings occurred was surprisingly calm. no outrage was visible there.. in fact people were supportive of the killings in many snap polls conducted by media then. (that means when they stopped someone midway to his/her work and asked them their reaction. )
This was more surprising for urban educated masses where they could not believe such practices can have sanction of society.
That was nothing.. they discovered soon.. as even MPs from that area.. notably Navin Jindal , an educated leader also supported Khap Panchayat.

why this happened..? why people apparently behave like barbarians?

Hence some point are necessary to understand some basic issue.

the opposition to inter caste marriage is everywhere in india.. especially in landed classes.. this opposition takes different forms in different areas.. and in north.. this took the form of opposition to same gotra marriage.

the objection of khap panchayats to same gotra marriage is based on the belief that. a 'gotra' constitutes people who are from same lineage.. thus they are related to each other. thus the girl and boy from a gotra are nothing but brother and sister.. and the marriage thus becomes incestuous marriage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotra

but but this concept is wrong.
let us see how..


the gotras are basically named after brahmanas who did all the religious ceremonies for the king and lay people. the names such as
Vishvâmitra, Jamadagni, Bharadvâja, Gautama, Atri, Vasishtha, Kashyapa and Agastya indicates the names are that of ancient sages which performed the ceremonies.

thus .. strictly speaking, the gotra concept .. that is.. belonging to same lineage ..(even if it is true.. ) is valid only for brahmanas.

now.. one wonders how people from other varnas.. (4 varnas.. brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras ) get the gotra..?

the answer is..since pre-gupta times.... when people lived in villages.. a sort of closed economy.. where the all the religious ceremonies were the responsibility of group of brahmanas.. who had different gotra. they divided between them different parts of village.. sometime based on areas.. and sometime based on occupation .. and the religious ceremony was complete responsibility of that brahmana. this went on for centuries.. almost 7-8 centuries.. and people who were served by brahmana's lineage for generations.. acquired the gotra identity that of brahmanas who served them.
thus even the other varnas acquired the gotra .. in this case.. people from same gotra were not necessarily brothers and sisters.. and it's this fact that the current debates on gotra totally ignores.

thus khap panchayats.. who quote Hindu scripture for the kind of behavior they indulge in.. are in fact.. acting without any basis of scriptures.


but the urban middle class.. especially not from north.. must understand the reason of the support these khap panchayats enjoy..
in india.. where the legal system is notorious for indefinite delays.. and complex laws.. the khap gives the affordable, easy to understand, quick, and at the door redressal of grievances.. khap is invaluable for these people. and they will not move away from khap for anything.

hence my suggestion is two point formula.

• 1 make these people understand that the practice is against scripture.. and hence against hinduism. this is a powerful idea as religion is biggest motivator as well as biggest hindrance to any behaviour. clever use of religion will go a long way.. as everyone will think twice before acting against religion.
  

2 provide them with alternate redressal system.. which is based on principle of panchayts.. but not caste specific.. but village specific. (this is tricky as people in one village generally belong to one caste..) or any other type of local court.. which is final authority..

if we don't provide them with alternate redressal system that is also as accessible easy to understand and affordable as these panchayt proved to be.. then it will be impossible for govt to wean away these people from khap panchayats.


of course.. it's beyond my knowledge and expertise to give a solution to such complex question. but what i want is active interference of govt.. with a carrot and stick approach.. using all avenues at their disposal.