Sherawat khap mandates people to ensure their wards study till Class 12

Progressive Move

Representatives of Sherawat khap, which wields influence over 22 villages in Haryana, have made it mandatory for people to ensure that children in their families study up to Class 12 at least.

This was among other decrees issued by the khap on Monday, prominent of which were imposition of ban on DJ system, consumption of liquor and reduction in expenses in weddings.

The instructions came on the heels of similar directions passed by Phogat khap.

The Sherawat khap has also prohibited organising ‘kaaj’ in the villages under its sway. ‘Kaaj’ is a ritual performed by most of the people in Haryana when some elderly family member dies a natural death.

The Sunday panchayat was presided over by Satbir Singh, who said, “The panchayat was called with an aim to curb female foeticide in villages and ensure equal educational rights to both boys and girls. We have made it mandatory for people belonging to our khap to ensure that children in their families study at least up to Class 12.”

“This decision has been taken after observing that many youths of our community have been dropping out of school at early stage. Such trend makes them more prone to get hooked to drugs. Many marriages in our community don’t last long because of the qualification gap between the man and the woman,” he added.

Satbir said their khap was the first body to issue such instructions.

In Haryana, there are about 90-odd khaps spread across eight districts dominated by Jat community, which makes up a fourth of the state’s population.

Another khap member, Ram Niwas, said they have decided to reduce expenditure in weddings and ban celebratory firing in marriage functions. “Many people in villages are forced to borrow money to make their daughters’ or sons’ weddings a grand affair and then spend their remaining lives repaying the debt,” he added.

Mahender Nandal, president of another khap, Nandal, said they had been asking the people to ensure education of their children. “We will also discuss implementation of such measures with other khaps,” he added.