The Khap panchaytas came in the firing line after the Supreme Court took serious note of Khap directives denying women the right to carry mobile phones. Calling the diktat illegal, the apex court set an end-February deadline, before planning guidelines to curb khap-endorsed violence against couples. We list out some of the most bizarre diktats issued by the Khaps:
Source : IBNLive
The Khap panchayats have dictated the law of the land in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh since time immemorial. Not only have their diktats bordered from absurd to ridiculous, the khaps have made the most ridiculous statements that marginalize women.
In the latest most bizarre comment ever, a khap panchayat in Haryana's Jind district blamed consumption of chowmein behind the growing incidents of rapes in the state. Consumption of chowmein, the Khaps say leads to hormonal imbalance. The comment was made by Jitender Chhatar, a resident of Jind's Chhatar village and Khap panchayat leader.
Source : PTI
The Khap panchayats has also said that the growing usage of mobile phones promotes 'social evils' like love marriages and encourages young couples to elope. Now this is as absurd as it gets.
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In 2011, a khap panchayat in In Uttar Pradesh's Shoram village blamed jeans-clad women for the rise in incidents of eve-teasing. On November 8, 2011, 50-odd members of the Brahmin Samaj in Muzaffarnagar met and decided that wearing jeans was dangerous for the safety of girls.
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In 2010, about 60 Khap panchayats met and demanded amendments in the Hindu Marriage Act to prevent marriages within the same 'gotra' (clan) and village. According to the Khaps, the same gotra marriages are against societal norms and the couples who commit the 'crime' are punished. The guilty can be ostracised, banished from the village, made to drink urine, paraded naked, beaten up and even killed.
Source : IBNLive
In July 2012, the Khap and akhara panchayats in west Uttar Pradesh districts came out with a 'code of coduct' putting restrictions on men. In a first of its kind diktat, the panchayat decided that men upto the age of 30 years will not be allowed to unnecessarily hang around the public places. It also said that boys below the age of 18 years were found smoking or chewing tobacco, they would be punished.
