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 If India is to become a truly glorious example of "unity in diversity", it must face the challenges threatening its pluralistic ideals.
The Khap Panchayats are in news for their demand to amend the Hindu Marriage Act. This is in reaction to the landmark judgment in the Manoj-Babli honor killing case, which sentenced five people to death and a Khap leader to life imprisonment. Subsequent to the judgment, there is growing public pressure on the government to ban the Khap Panchayats. On their part, these Panchayats have been defiant. They had a meeting of representatives of 20 Khaps on April 13 where they demanded a ban on sa-gotra (sa: same, gotra: ancestral lineage) marriages. They also decided to collect money to appeal on behalf of the convicts in Manoj-Babli case. On August 1, they are having a massive Khap congregation to decide further course of action.
Khap is a geographical entity comprising a cluster of villages, prevalent in parts of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Western Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Khap Panchayat - a distinct entity from the Gram Panchayat (elected village council) - is an age-old caste council for upholding caste norms. While these Panchayats do play a role in settling the community disputes, they are more known, rather feared, for forceful imposition of their diktats in the name of preserving community honor and traditions. The Khaps are synonymous to rich Jat landowners, who use these bodies as instruments to perpetuate their hold on land, women and customs. People from the marginalized sections and women have no place in the Khap bodies. It is no coincidence then that most of the Khap atrocities are committed against the weaker sex and sections of the society. In fact, the fear of wrath of the Khap Panchayats is such that many parents marry off their daughters at a tender age to avoid eventuality of them bringing shame to the community. Abortions of female foetus is very high in the state, skewing the sex ratio badly, but these Panchayats draw a blank when it comes to issues like female infanticide, women's rights, education and development.
Sa-gotra marriages, intra-village marriages, marriages in bordering villages, or those where one's village enjoys relation of brotherhood - are all prohibited as incestuous. Inter-caste marriages are also a taboo to maintain caste purities. The couples who violate these norms are forced to annul their marriage and accept the spouse as a sibling. Those who do not comply are expelled from the village, their families are publicly humiliated, heavily fined and economically and socially ostracized. In many instances, Khap Panchayats even order gang rapes and execution. It is believed that more than 100 young guys and girls get killed every year through this barbaric honour killing practice. Manoj and Babli were forced to commit suicide by drinking pesticide as they married despite belonging to the same gotra.
The state establishment and police ignore such criminal diktats and undemocratic ways of functioning, as Khaps represent the collective strength of nearly 30% of the electorate. The promptness with which prominent politicians from across the spectrum jumped in to take up the case of sa-gotra marriage ban, shows their readiness to appease communities for votes, even if such communities are regressive and act contrary to the laws and ethos of our nation.
It is a well known fact that Indian Hindus always follow the tradition of horoscope and gotra matching for arranged marriages. On the other hand, those couples opting for love marriages would hardly care for the gotra, horoscope or even legal sanctity. Also, there are no provisions for criminal punishments for marriages in prohibited relationships. So getting sa-gotra marriages banned is only meant to be a symbolic gain for them, and I am sure Khap leaders realize this.
The real reason behind the recent surge in Khap activities is to arrest the decline in their power and relevance, and to prove that they can still flex political muscle. This massive consolidation of Khap Panchayats is to reassert their authority as the torch-bearers of the Jat customs - a position that is being challenged in the current socio-economic scenario by educated youth and political ascension of Dalits and women in gram panchayats thanks to reservations. The neofeudal, patriarchal mindset of the Khap leaders makes it impossible for them to accept Dalits and women as having any rights or standing, let alone being their equals or superiors. Khap Panchayats have always been severe on Dalits and have meted out barbaric punishments - including lynching, public gang rape and naked parading of women, burning of their houses, etc. - in cases where they were found to have violated the Khap norms. The recent Mirchpur incident may be recalled here, where 18 Dalit homes were burnt killing one handicapped girl and her father. The Khaps rallied in support of the perpetrators of this heinous crime and threatened to have a state wide agitation if they are not released by the police.
Agreed that it is imperative that the State respects the traditions of various communities - and the Indian Constitution and laws do have extensive provisions to take care of the heterogeneity of Indian cultures and customs. But no traditional institute has the right to assume extra-Constitutional powers and defy the rule of law. It is of paramount importance to check the illegal writ of caste entities that can cause social strife and undermine national unity and security. At the same time, the Indian government needs to realize that such anachronistic entities take the advantage of weakness of democracy at the grassroots and fill in the vacuum by projecting themselves as a parallel system of justice and governance. It is therefore extremely important to strengthen the gram panchayats and remove the disconnect between the State and people.
In 1967, in a small town named Naxalbari, a tribal protest against the continued oppression by the landlords in no time turned into an armed struggle to overthrow the Indian government. The initial history of People's War Group in Andhra Pradesh in 1980 highlights that the prevalent social inequalities and exploitation of the underclass by the upper castes gravitated them towards PWG. Unknown to those of us in the confines of cities, life in many Indian villages is not only marred by acute poverty, but also by extreme exploitation and atrocities by the landlords and upper classes. Even the Naxalites, who see things mainly from economics purview, agree that caste inequalities have caused massive subjugation and injustice to the tribals, Dalits and deprived of the nation - many of whom now are Naxalite cadres or supporters. For these socially discriminated classes of people, Naxalism brings hope - which government fails to, and also a shred of dignity - which is otherwise denied to them by the upper castes and classes. No wonder, India is finding it hard to quell this menace that has spread to 40% of India's geographical area; after all, there is no dearth of oppressed poor in this vast country.
India is witnessing a lot of political mobilization on the basis of limited identity. There has been a sudden mushrooming of self-styled keepers of public morality and traditions in India. They tell what to wear, watch, celebrate; what language to communicate and do business in; where to live; whom to marry. In a time and age where multiculturalism is under tremendous strain worldwide, a heterogeneous country like India can ill afford to let such divisive politics and narrow chauvinism erode the composite social, religious and cultural fabric of the nation. Good governance, inclusive development and democracy and effective rule of law are required to win back the confidence of the people in the Indian national identity. In the past, India has successfully withstood many challenges to her pluralistic ideals. It is time to extend this inclusive ethos of the nation beyond the constitutional realm and into social, political and economic spheres with full effect, if India is to become a truly glorious example of "unity in diversity" to the whole world. 
Semu Bhatt is a Mumbai-based independent political analyst specializing in security and governance issues. She is co-author of Cost of Conflict between India and Pakistan and Cost of Conflict in Sri Lanka.
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