The answer is yes. Since the post independence period, it was the government which had patronized and encouraged the khap Panchayats in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. As time passed, these Panchayats were granted power and autonomy to decide on all matters and make their own verdicts. Well, times have changed and now these khaps are posing a big problem for the Indian society. Unfortunately all these have been caused by the ignorance and hesitancy of our government towards the issue. The center, over the years has turned a blind to the dominance of these Panchayats. Had our so called able administrators and ministers taken a step before, such black stamp on the Indian society in the name of khap Panchayats would not have taken place.
It is needless to say that government support on the Khap Panchayats was due to some selfish political motives. Most of the khap leaders or ‘sarpanchs’ have good political connections and play a big role in winning a MLA or MP in their constituencies (most of this of course is done by illegal or forceful means like threatening or false votes). To fulfill their interests, almost all political parties have patronized the Panchayat leaders in return of their assistance. In course of time, this has directly resulted in the dominance of the khaps and now they are doing whatever they feel.
Due to the political advantage that they got, the atrocities of the khap Panchayats went on increasing day by day. Today it has reached such intensity that almost every day, we get to hear news about honour killings, inter caste murders, rape, and other forms of social abuse in these states.
Under political pressure, the police too are forced to remain inactive. Mention needs to be made here about the Manoj-Babli honour killing case where it was found out that the accused were in fact helped by policemen who had been deployed for the protection of the couple. Such is the law and order situation in our country. The Karnal Additional Sessions Court has given death sentence to all the five accused. However, as always, the matter is pending in the higher court and sooner or later, the accused will be set free due to their financial and political backing.
While hearing 10 cases relating to inter caste marriages, Justice K.S. Ahluwalia openly pleaded helplessness about the limitations of the judiciary and urged the state to take some action. He observed that, “the High Court is flooded with petitions where … judges of this Court have to answer for the right of life and liberty to married couples. The State is a mute spectator. When shall the State awake from its slumber [and] for how long can Courts provide solace and balm by disposing of such cases?”. There is perhaps no better remark about government’s inaction than this statement.
Due to immense pressure from NGOs and social organizations the government may have been forced to set up a panel of ministers to tackle the khap Panchayat issue, but the real interest and initiative is missing. The government is not really keen to lose its vote bank for the sake of some human rights safeguard (after all 'rights' do not yield votes and make you win elections). In fact, some Congress leaders are even openly showing their support for the khap leaders. Naveen Jindal, the Congress MP from Kurukshetra was recently seen attending a meeting of a khap Panchayat where he apologized for the actions against these Panchayats.
Clearly, the khap Panchayats are Frankensteins of the center and our own political system. They are now getting out of control and if the center still hesitates to take a firm action, the end result will be a massive social divide and unrest among communities.
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