Haryana’s infamous khaps are turning to home-grown detectives to keep an eye on ‘errant’ village girls who wear western clothes and use mobile phones while away in towns and cities to study or work.
The Sarv Khap has made three demands, claiming that they would help curb honour killings in the state. It passed a resolution seeking amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act, imparting of moral education at the school level and a ban on porn sites in the state.
Taking a cue from Dhankar Khap, the Barha Khap Panchayat of Jhajjar district recently issued a diktat barring girls of about a dozen villages from wearing jeans and using mobile phones. Pradhan of the khap, Jagdev Singh said, “We have taken this decision as girls wear such kind of western dresses which attract boys, and then crime against women take place. We will ensure that our decision is implemented by all institutions, where the girls above 10 years visit. The diktat will be for the women staff of schools and colleges as well. Girls would be allowed to wear salwar-kameez only.”
All these diktats have come out in the last 10 days; two recent incidents have brought back the focus once again on the shocking honour killings. In a Rohtak village, a young couple—fine arts student Nidhi and her childhood friend Dharmender—were tortured and killed by Nidhi’s family in full public view because they married against the family’s wishes despite belonging to the same gotra.
Couples from upper castes and dalit communities are also killed alike in the name of saving family ‘honour’; of late, there have been no dearth of such depressing news from the interiors of Haryana.
These diktats have once again perturbed freethinkers of Haryana. Secretary of the All-India Democratic Women’s Association in Haryana, Savita said, “The state, which had recorded dozens of honour killings, had done nothing to curb the crime. A memorandum containing over one lakh signatures was submitted to the Union law minister a few months ago, along with the draft legislation but nothing happened.”