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Khaps push for ban on live-ins, same-sex marriage
The khap leaders passed resolutions seeking ban on marriages in the same village, same gotra (sub-clan), neighbouring village, ban on live-in relationship, fixing girls’ marriage age 18, ban on same-sex relationship and marriage and parental consent mandatory in love marriages.
Representatives of nearly 300 khaps from northern states on Sunday passed resolutions seeking bans on live-in relationships, same-sex relationships and same-sex marriages, apart from demanding explicit parental consent for love marriages.
The khaps will “launch an agitation” if their demands are not met, they said. Talking to the media, Nain said they will talk to the government to amend the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and keep girls’ marriage age 18.
The resolutions were passed during the Sarv Jatiye Sarv Khap Sammelan (all-caste clan meet) at Danoda village of Jind district in Haryana, where the khap heads formed a 51-member-committee, led by Binain Khap chief Raghubir Nain, to hold dialogue with the Union government.
“ We have seen many married women and men staying in live-in relationships with other men or women and this is a dangerous trend. Their children suffer the most because of their parents act. We urge the government to ban live-in relationship, no marriage in the same village, gotra (sub-clan) and neighbouring village. We have also sought parental consent mandatory in love marriages,” he added.
He said they are not against love marriages but such marriages should be solemnised with the consent of their parents.
The khap leaders became active again after seeing a significant rise in the number of hate crimes (honour killing) in the state. On June 24, a couple, who got married two months ago despite opposition from the woman’s family, was shot dead by her brother and cousin (maternal) in a park in Hansi town of Hisar district.Their families were known to each other and belonged to the same caste. In a similar incident, a 17-year-old boy killed his sister and injured her mother-in-law and sister-in-law in Kaithal over inter-caste marriage.
On June 3, a 27-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her father and brother on June 3 in Sirsa. The woman and her friend were of the same caste and were in touch for the last five years. The man’s poor financial situation was the reason behind the woman’s family not accepting the relationship.
However, in the fourth case, panchayats of two villages dominated by Yadavs in Mahendergarh district had mounted pressure on a newly wed couple to end their marriage as they belong to neighbouring villages but they refused to do so.
The man and the woman, who are in their 20s, are from neighbouring villages-- Bigopur and Dholera. They fled from their homes and got married in a temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad on June 9. The proximity of their villages went against the old customs, which disallow marriages between people of neighbouring villages.
Chahal Khap president Balbir Singh said the khaps have also demanded action against the parents who solemnise child marriage of their wards, ban on usage of drugs, save environment and restriction on dowry in marriages.
