Khaps in Haryana,Gender and Honour: A Field Study

Introduction

A khap is defined ¹ as ‘a unit of number of villages organised into a political council for the purpose of social control’ (Pradhan, 1966, p. 336). Recently, an institution of khaps (a community organisation representing a clan or a group of related clans), a khap panchayat, has been in the news because of their diktats on political issues (contesting of elections and reservations for marginalised communities), social issues (honour killings, female foeticide, rape and casteism) and agricultural issues (a ban on the growing of paddy crops). In order to maintain their influence on local communities, the khaps have issued diktats on issues related to marriage, elopement, rape, suitable marriage age for women, female foeticide and so on. Such actions have attracted media attention and national-level criticism. Literature on these groups indicates that they are extremely patriarchal in nature and have a tendency historically to exclude women, lower castes and weaker sections of society (Chowdhry, 2006; Chowdhry, 2014).

This article attempts to focus on the interface between gender and some khaps in Haryana, especially in the so-called khap belt, where the sexuality of females and gender equality is very strictly controlled. For instance, while both men and women embody notions of honour they do so from a different position. The woman is the repository of honour, and the man is regulator of honour. Women, considered to be the sole custodians of honour and protectors of the prestige of their caste, gotra (lineage) and family, are often subjected to violence and punishment. The greatest danger to the ideology of honour comes from the woman. They are often made to hear phrases like, ‘Ladki ke saath uski kutumb ki izzat judi hai’ (the honour of every family is connected to its daughter). A woman dishonours her family through her shameful physical behaviour. This includes observing sharam (modesty) to lihaz (deference) to her sexuality. Honour is the overarching concept which regulates and puts into effect the practice of ghoongat/purdah (veil) and its attendant ideology of seclusion as a controlling device (Chowdhry, 2006). Control on female’s personal movements and ‘protection’ from other males takes the form of seclusion. Gill, in her study has outlined a case that of a brother, on seeing his sister sitting on a cot along with some house guests, got angry and said, ‘Barabar bathegi? Aise karte hani mehmano ki izzat? Sirf ladke saamne bethte hain’ (How can you sit with guests as an equal? Is that how guests are shown respect? Only boys are allowed to sit with guests) (2019, p. 352).

There are certain spaces which are completely masculine. These spaces play an important role in constructing gender roles and identities. It extends from the private to the public space. Men are seen in an advantageous position. They have control over material, socio-cultural, political and ideological resources. Further, it makes the presence of males, and absences of females seem natural (Chowdhry, 2014). For example, in Haryana, the baithak ² and chaupal ³ are highly masculine spaces. It is a common sight in Haryana to have only men occupying these spaces, irrespective of caste, class and religion. Women are nowhere to be seen while the men sit with their bubbling hookahs, playing cards in these masculine spaces (Devi, 2017). Respondents when interviewed say that women are not even allowed to enter chaupals. In case a woman happens to pass by, she has to cover her face. Social norms play an important role in controlling the behaviour of women (Gill, 2012).

This article examines the ways in which khaps view and deal with gender issues, especially in the light of honour-based gender violence. The first part of the article will throw light on their structure from a gender perspective, examining the position and the role of women in khaps. The second part deals with change and continuity within the functioning of khaps, with a special emphasis on the nature of diktats issued by them. Specific case studies of honour killings and elopement follow and have been discussed at length. The article also highlights cases where women, activists, the media and various constitutional authorities have come out openly and criticised the diktats of khaps. Finally, in the conclusion we look at what should be done to make them a part of twenty-first century India.

Research Methodology

The present study has been conducted in the khap belt of the state of Haryana. Haryana has been witness to a rampant increase in the incidence of honour killings. There are 11 districts in Haryana where khaps have been found active (Sharma, 2011). A study of relevant literature shows that there are three types of khaps found in Haryana. The first type is single-caste and single-gotra, the second

is single-caste, but multiple-gotra and finally the third, is multi-caste and multi-gotra. Keeping in mind all three types, three khaps types, namely, Dahiya Chalisa khap (single-caste and single-gotra), Meham Chaubisi khap (single caste and multiple gotra) and Bawal Chaurasi khap (multi-caste and multi-gotra) have been purposively selected. Qualitative tools of data collection, such as group discussions, in-depth interviews and oral narratives have been used for gathering information. A case study method was used to study these three khaps and honour killing comprehensively. Pradhans, (village headman) members and secretaries of khaps and community members at large, irrespective of age and gender, were the main key respondents. Both primary and secondary data have been used to capture the structure and functions of khaps. A gender perspective has also been used in order to understand the inherent gender biases within this community organisation. Finally, data has been analysed qualitatively.

The Structure of Khaps: A Gender Perspective

It is important to note why there is a need to examine khaps from a gender perspective. It is because injustice, prejudice and discrimination against women is clearly evident in all their rulings. While dealing with gender-related cases, the khaps have notoriously taken decisions without taking into account women’s views. Hence, it is very important to examine the mindset, ideology and the background of the male-dominated society found in Haryana’s khap belt. The diktats issued by khaps have by and large been male biased. Historical evidence shows that khaps have been a patriarchal institution (Chowdhry, 2006). Khaps have always been dominated by elderly men hailing from the upper, landowning Jat community (Gill, 2019), and women conventionally have hardly had any role in these bodies except as rubber stamps. Khaps need to be studied from a gender perspective for the following reasons:

Conventionally, khaps have primarily been made up of male members. In order to counter this criticism, some khaps at the Sarv Khap level (a group of many khaps) in Haryana introduced a women’s wing in 2010.

Due to the reasons outlined above it is important to analyse the role of khaps from a gender perspective. It is not surprising that in the face of criticism and modernisation the old orthodox patriarchs who are desperately holding on to the khap’s traditional ideology are now feeling threatened. A critical appraisal of khaps from a gender perspective shall be made by focussing on the structure and function of khaps, diktats issued by khaps on social issues and resistance faced by the khaps. In order to understand the structure of khaps, an attempt has been made to know what the structure was in the past with the help of primary and secondary data. Studies by Lewis (1965), Mayer (1965), Pradhan (1966), Chauhan (1967), Aggarwal (1971), Sangwan (1986), Kumar (2012), Devi (2017) and Gill (2019) have proved quite helpful in understanding the structure of khaps. Studies have revealed that the structure of khaps has been dominated by the community’s dominant caste and gotra. These multi-village panchayats have played an active role and were known for an element of fair play in their decisions in the past. Lewis (1965) too has found the existence of multi-village panchayats, popularly known as Bisgama (20 villages), further divided into smaller units of two, three and four villages, that is, Daugama, Tigama and Chaugama, respectively, dominated by the Daba gotra. Pradhan (1966) studied the khap of 84 villages of the Balyan clan in western Uttar Pradesh at the village, multi-village and regional levels. The decisions of a khap used to be obligatory for the entire community members. Aggarwal (1971) also noted the existence of multi-village panchayats between the Meos of Haryana and adjoining Rajasthan.

A traditional panchayat has a hierarchy level made up of pal, thamba and village panchayats. The pal panchayat exercises control over people residing under multiple villages. It has a chaudhary who occupies his position on a hereditary basis; next to the chaudhary in the pal hierarchy are the dhings, that is, wealthy men who control large factions. Chaudhary, dhings and thamba members constitute a pal.

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Table 1.

Hierarchy in the Dahiya Chalisa, Meham Chaubisi and Bawal Khaps

Positions	Roles	Positions	Roles
Pradhan	Resolve disputes of land, thefts, marriage, water sharing, etc.	Secretary	Maintain records
Spokesperson	In-case the pradhan is old	Members	Assists the khap pradhan

Source: Fieldwork in Haryana, 2012–2017.

A study by Devi (2017) and Gill (2019) highlights five levels in the structure of khaps, that is, village, gawand ⁴ , tappa ⁵ , khap and Sarv Khap. In an earlier study, there was no mention of women in the structure. Therefore, special attention has been made to find out the change within the structure, if any. For this purpose, repeated and prolonged interactions were conducted with key respondents from 2012 to 2017. Key respondents were interviewed multiple times. The secretary of the Sarv Khap in Shamli, Muzzafarnagar was interviewed to see the records of khaps.

By and large, a khap comprises four levels and designations: a pradhan, secretary, spokesperson and other members which is highlighted in Table 1 . Similar positions were found in a tappa. The members of the gawand, tappa, khap together comprise a Sarv Khap. Khaps have no well-defined structure, formal membership and no electoral principle to constitute it (Chaudhary, 2014).

Meham Chaubisi Khap

Meham Chaubisi, as the name reflects, originally had 24 villages under it. With the passage of the time, numbers of villages increased, and the headquarters of this khap is now situated in Meham town, district Rohtak. During the fieldwork, five hierarchical levels were found in the structure of the Meham Chaubisi khap. Figure 1 shows the level of khaps from the lowest to the highest level, that is, tholla ⁶ , pana ⁷ , village, tappa and khap.

Further, there were seven tappas in Meham Chaubisi khap, each tappa with approximately comprising seven villages under it. Each tappa has members and a pradhan as well, nominated by the same procedure and with consent of the khap pradhan. The pradhan of Meham Chaubisi was nominated from the Goyat gotra of the Jat community with the consent of 36 biradaris. A consensus was adopted for the nomination of the pradhan. The secretary of the khap decides the date and time of the nomination and conveys the message to the heads of thollas and panas through the nambardaars and chaukidars of the village. The pradhan of Meham Chaubisi khap has always been nominated from Meham town. On the decided date and time, all the heads of the panas come to the chabutra (community platform) of Meham to give their consent to the candidates. A consensus is shown by raising of hands to give their consent to the candidates and all 36 biradaris (clan) take part in the nomination process, as revealed by the pradhan. But it one sees that that only men belonging to the Jat caste take part in the nomination process. A similar procedure was adopted by khaps at different levels.

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Figure 1.

Source: Interview with the pradhan of Meham Chaubisi Khap.

Dahiya Chalisa Khap

Dahiya Chalisa khap of district Sonipat, Haryana originally comprised 40 villages, with its headquarters at village Sisana, ever since its inception. Chaudhary Pahalwan Singh was the pradhan of Dahiya khap at the time of our fieldwork. It is one of the largest single gotra-based khaps in Haryana. In present times, the number of the villages in this khap has increased to 52. It was noted that khaps always have had common leadership, maintained community norms, a code of conduct and social sanctions. Dahiya khap has a ‘five-tier system’, that is, tholla, pana, village, tappa and khap as seen in Figure 2 .

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Figure 2.

Source: Interview with the pradhan of Daihiya Chalisa Khap.

Bawal Chaurasi Khap

The Bawal Chaurasi khap used to cover 84 villages. Presently, it covers 112 villages. Its main headquarters is situated in Bawal town from where the pradhan of Bawal Chaurasi had always been nominated. The unique feature of this khap was that it was based on multiple-castes and multiple-gotras. Although different castes including Yadavs, Pandits, Jats and Scheduled Castes were represented in the Bawal khap villages, a majority of these villages are dominated by Jats. Chaudhary Dalip Singh, a Jat, aged 90 years, is the pradhan of Bawal Chaurasi. A retired government employee, he has a respectable position among villagers and in Bawal town. As the head of the Bawal Chaurasi khap, he is assisted by four to five members, all of them influential Jats. It was found that Bawal is the eight tappa of the Jhadsa khap. Members of this khap reveal that though it considers itself an independent khap, that is not so. To know the structure of Bawal Chaurasi khap, it is important to note the structure of the Jhadsa khap which we can see in Figure 3 .

Change and Continuity in the Structure of Khaps

Contradicting some earlier studies, Pradhan (1966) and Sangwan (1986) have asserted that there is a single pradhan in a khap. But our present study has revealed that there have usually been two pradhans in some khaps––one nominated and the other self-appointed. This has been seen in the Meham and Dahiya khaps. Self-appointed pradhans secure their positions due to their economic, social and political stature in the local area. However, it is the nominated pradhan who actually commands more respect in the community as he comes with considerable experience. The self-appointed pradhans tend to be younger in age, that is, between 35 and 50 years, while people were generally of the opinion that a pradhan must be elderly, experienced and from the dominant gotra.

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Figure 3.

Source: Interview with members of the Bawal Chaurasi Khap.

Our study has shown that Bawal Chaurasi khap has a nominated pradhan, along with a spokesperson. ⁸ During our first few visits to the Bawal khap only the spokesperson was available for an interview. On the earlier visits, we thought he was the pradhan of that particular khap. Only after several visits, one realised that he was merely the spokesperson, an advocate by profession. The real pradhan of Bawal Chaurasi khap was 90 years-old and his mobility was restricted. In our interactions, the spokesperson seemed to be building his image, perhaps to ensure his nomination as a future pradhan. The rise of younger males as self-appointed pradhans indicates a change in the institution with the younger men trying to grab power from elderly incumbents.

Our analysis indicates that these khaps have always been and still continue to be dominated by a group of old and a few middle-aged men, all Jats. These findings corroborate earlier studies (Chaudhary, 2014), which have associated this institution with Jats and that too men (Chowdhry, 2006). This study too has failed to find any non-Jats and women dominating present day khaps. Though, two women were found present in the structure of khaps, it is the male pradhans, members, spokespersons and secretaries with influential backgrounds and prestigious social reputation who dominate. By and large they have complete control over different resources, including land, money and political power with the non-Jats being dependent on them for every small need. There has hardly been any change so far as the caste background of the pradhans is concerned. These findings coincide with an earlier study (Jodhka & Dhar, 2003) which argues that members of Scheduled Castes are primarily landless and work as agricultural labourers and hugely indebted to the landowning castes, that is, Jats. They have further observed that over the last five to six decades, though society and polity changed to some extent all over India yet rural life in Haryana has continued to be dominated by Jats. The pradhans and members of khaps all have large landholdings, that is, more than 60 acres. In one case, we have noted that the pradhan of a khap possessed 250 acres of land. One self-appointed pradhan owned even more land than the nominated pradhan. Due to their influential background, these self-appointed pradhans exercised authority over the local community.

Most studies confirm that the pradhan and other members always come from a dominant gotra (Chowdhry, 2011; Chaudhary, 2014). There is a hierarchy within a gotra also, and the pradhan invariably is from the highest gotra. Lately, however, members from a lower gotra, using money power, have been asserting their supremacy and becoming self-appointed pradhans. In Meham Chaubisi khap, for instance, earlier the pradhan used to be invariably from the Goyat gotra, but recently a person from the lower Grewal gotra appointed himself pradhan. There has also been a noticeable change over time in terms of the educational qualifications of the pradhans and khap members who now either had a government service background or were retired, unlike the earlier incumbents who were simply big land owners.

Aspects indicating some sort of continuity in khaps relates to its patriarchal ethos. There have never been any women members in khaps, and definitely they have not been pradhans. Recently, due to the immense pressure faced by khaps from civil society, women have been included, but only symbolically, without imparting any significant role to them. Khaps therefore continue to be male-dominated institutions (Gill, 2019), excluding both women and lower castes. Studies have confirmed that women were never a part of khaps.

Although khaps have been dealing with women issues, yet to include women in decision making or consulting was never felt. It was only in 2010, that a woman was included in the structure of a Sarv Khap, mainly due to the pressure built up by the media and civil society. But over the last six years, only one woman was inducted in the Satrol Khap on 22 April 2014 (Kaur, 2014) confirming its continued patriarchal structure (Chowdhry, 2014). While analysing these women wings, we found that although notionally present women have no role in decision making and are merely rubber stamps. The inherent ideology of khaps in any case rules out women’s participation in them, even though many of their decisions have a vital impact on women. With women historically being kept behind veils, their inclusion in the public domain was never allowed by male-dominated institutions.

Even though women are getting more educated, societies are changing, civilisations are evolving, modernisation occurring, women are at par with many of their male counterparts and becoming bread earners, the old orthodox leaders in the khaps are loathe to change their way of thinking. Faced by strong criticism

from the media, civil society, activists, educated and empowered women, it did become necessary for the khaps to include women in their organisation, however minimally. So, on 13 April 2010, the Sarv Khap of Haryana decided to constitute a women’s wing. But at the time of writing, Sarv Khap has just two women, a meagre percentage when compared to the male members. Forget about the participation of women in khaps, they are not even allowed to come near the chaupals. ⁹ Table 2 clearly shows that a woman’s presence is absolutely nil at different levels of khaps. The male mindset has simply not accepted a possibility of women sharing the dais with males, the respondents revealed. Table 3 shows the absence of women in selected khaps. It clearly indicates the complete dominance of men in the composition of khaps. There is no authority, power or recognition awarded to women in the decision-making process.

Khaps Continues to be the Hegemony of Men: A Field View

Though a women’s wing was introduced at the Sarv Khap level, there has not been any change in the perception of khap members and the community. The mindset of male members is so embedded with male chauvinism that the acceptance of female participation is not welcomed. There is a complete hegemony of men in khaps (Devi, 2017; Gill, 2019) as the following responses from respondents indicate. A Jat man said,

A woman has no role to play in the khaps. Even if the issue being addressed is one of domestic violence, a woman’s representation is not considered appropriate. It will be the male members of the family who will be present. Till now, no woman has ever been seen in a meeting of the khap.

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Table 2.

Women’s Place in the Structure of Khaps

Level of Khap	Men	Women
Tholla	✓	•
Pana	✓	•
Village	✓	•
Gawand	✓	•
Tappa	✓	•
Khap	✓	•
Sarv Khap	✓	Women wing formed in 2010
Satrol Khap	✓	Women wing formed in 2014

Source: Fieldwork in Haryana with khap members, 2012–2017.

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Table 3.

Women’s Place in the Structure of Selected Khaps

Level of Khap	Dahiya Chalisa		Meham Chaubisi		Bawal Chaurasi
	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women
Tholla	✓	•	✓	•	✓	•
Pana	✓	•	✓	•	✓	•
Village	✓	•	✓	•	✓	•
Gawand	✓	•	✓	•	✓	•
Tappa	✓	•	✓	•	✓	•
Khap	✓	•	✓	•	✓	•

Source: Group discussion with pradhans of three selected khaps in Haryana.

Even the formation of the women’s wing in the Sarv Khap has not been taken seriously. When a woman was told that a women’s wing has been formed, she immediately said: ‘The woman will still be a puppet in the khap; forming a woman’s wing is just an eye wash’. Other local villagers feel that the inclusion of women is there to strengthen the khap’s position and they were not aware of the formation of women’s wing. When a 60-year-old male respondent was asked whether women should be represented in the khaps, his reluctantly said, ‘It won’t be liked if a woman attends meetings. Since khaps are male-dominated, women will feel awkward. They even maintain purdah when they pass the chabutra’. Another woman respondent then narrated: ‘Our daughters-in-law never go out. The chabutra of a khap is out of bounds, women simply cannot go there’. Interestingly, the daughters-in-law of a khap pradhan said, ‘Women have to remain confined within the four walls of the house and they cannot go to the chabutra’. Another young male respondent said, ‘Women are not capable of holding office in a khap’. When local villagers are questioned whether a woman can ever become a pradhan of khap? The overwhelming repose was no. One man said, ‘Only a grandfather can be a pradhan, since he has the honour to wear a pagri (turban), not even a grandmother is entitled to that’. The turban is considered the prerogative only of elderly, respectable and influential men from a dominant gotra.

Reacting to the inclusion of women in khaps, the general tone was that that it was unlikely that women in the state of Haryana would ever be included. In a village, Bibipur, one of the women khap representatives was openly snubbed by members. The pradhan of the Dalaal Khap while commenting on the woman president of the Sarv Khap said, ‘Chalo upasthith rehna ka kaam karti hai (She merely plays a role to mark her presence). Some respondents gave reasons why a woman could not become khap pradhan. They rejected the idea of including women in the structure of khaps as they believed that only men could be rational and logical, not women who could be emotional. Therefore, decision-making positions are meant only for men.

Functions of Khaps: Past and Present

Old records that are kept at the khap’s headquarters reveal that they came into existence when life was insecure and people lived in constant fear and threat: a situation of anarchy existed and there was a complete absence of formal laws (Devi, 2017). During those uncertain times, the decisions of khaps were binding on the people, accepted by all, irrespective of caste, class and gender. Personal interviews with pradhans, other members and social activists indicate that members of khaps have always enjoyed social, economic and political supremacy in rural communities (Pradhan, 1966; Sangwan, 1986). As discussed earlier, the decisions of these largely caste-based and patriarchal institutions were binding on all. A review of literature reveals that the khaps performed social, economic and cultural functions, both for the local population as well for neighbouring villages. In the absence of any formal governing body to maintain law and order and regulate the life of the villagers, khaps flourished as a community institution. Literature too has highlighted that they have protected people from external and internal threats (theft, robbery, dacoit and loot), act as a sort of maintenance mechanism, settling disputes such as family and marital disagreements, defended one’s religious faith, helping local kings by organising small armies to fight larger onslaughts. In the overall picture, maintaining social harmony was a major objective of this institution (Chaudhary, 2014). After Independence, however, the political functions of khaps reduced and they became limited to maintaining a social balance. The focus then became to ensure that their authority and control over local people remained. It can be argued therefore that these khaps began issuing social diktats, however unreasonable, in order keep the institution of khaps alive.

Khaps and Social Diktats

In Haryana, one of the main roles of the khaps is to act as custodians of marriage practices. They have formulated strict norms that prohibit marriage within the same and other specific gotras/village, and within caste groups called the baradari. These marriage rules are observed to keep the village bhaichara (brotherhood) intact. Inter-caste marriages are completely ruled out. Any breach in observing this norm is taken as a serious violation, resulting in negative sanctions in the form of punishments, that includes fines, a social boycott, and in extreme cases, the elimination/killing of the transgressing couple (Yadav, 2009). The phenomenon of honour killing is directly related to the disobedience of these customary norms (Ahlawat, 2016; Chowdhry, 2004; Kaur, 2010). This although the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, has permitted sagotra and inter-caste marriages (Chowdhry, 2006). Recently, the khaps have even demanded changes in Hindu Marriage Act wanting a ban in same-gotra marriage. Despite the law, the diktats issued by khaps still hold firm as is evident from the following case studies.

Khaps and Honour Killings: A Field View

Honour killing is an extreme kind of violence perpetrated against women, normally committed by the male members of the girl’s family with the goal of ‘restoring’ the family’s honour. A woman’s extra-marital relationship, suspected adultery and/or pregnancy, marrying outside the community are reasons for honour killing (Jafri, 2008; Welchman, 2006). By indulging in these activities, it is believed that a girl brings dishonour and shame upon a family. Respondents when we asked them also felt that women are responsible for this dishonour. ‘Honour killing’ is a terrible injustice, a human rights violation and gender subordination (Grewal, 2013). Young couples, especially girls, are murdered, often brutally, when it is believed they have crossed caste lines by either marrying a boy of a lower caste, say, a dalit, or run away with partners who belong to castes or groups considered to be inappropriate for marriage.

Grewal cites the role of a girl’s family, that is a brother, father and mother, in these honour killings. In rural Haryana, there have been cases where girls have been killed by male relatives, by making them consume pesticide (Celphos) tablets, and their have been disposed off by burning them secretly at night. Family members often cover this act by saying the girl committed suicide or just they simply pass it off as a natural death. Cases where girls have been killed in the name of honour are all hushed up. Teachers in some government schools have said that they come to know about these incidents, only when they have checked the attendance register only to find that a girl has been absent for a long period. They then get to know from the villagers and students that the girl has been poisoned and secretly cremated at night.

The ideology that governs the khaps, directly and indirectly, permeates this kind of thinking. The parents of the girls remain in constant fear of diktats. In the case of Satish and Kavita of Khedi Meham, after their relationship became public it was Kavita who was told to leave her village while Satish was allowed to stay on. It is invariably women who are subjected to punishment. Policemen too have similar views as villagers and khap members. No justice can be administered when the government machinery has the same patriarchal mindset. When asked why the notion of honour is always attached to a girl and not to the boy, a respondent said: ‘A girl is the pride of the family. She is like a turban. If a girl elopes and gets married into another caste, there is a feeling that the turban, a symbol of respect, will become stained and bring dishonour, a kalank (stain), to the family’.

In rural areas, it is the girl who is considered responsible for any elopement even though the boy is equally involved. The fear of the khap is clearly visible among villagers and family members. Although khap pradhans repeatedly deny their role in honour killings, close interactions with respondents reveal that khaps instigate society against families who feel so humiliated, that fearing a social boycott, they themselves adopt the approach of killing their errant child to protect their honour. As a man said, ‘It is the khaps who get the honour killings done’. They also add, that khaps issue instructions that girls should not be allowed to use mobile phones or wear.Western clothes, to limit interaction with boys and they can be checked because of sanctions imposed by the khaps. Despite their role in conflict resolution, these bodies have by and large been casteist, completely patriarchal, regressive and often highly political.

There are actually two contrary views on the functioning of khaps. According to one, they perform positive functions for the community and individuals. The other view treats them as regressive, casteist and patriarchal. Perhaps the reality lies in between these two extremes. There is no doubt that khaps traditionally have been playing a vital role in resolving disputes within the local population, besides maintaining a level of peace and social cohesion (Chaudhary, 2014). But it is more a question of context. For instance, the same khap which performs the role of conflict resolution, creating social harmony also encourages patriarchy, casteism and communal feelings. The same khap becomes a negative force for parents whose children opt for ‘inappropriate’ partners. The parents then are sandwiched between the diktats of the khaps and their children. It was observed that although a number of parents favoured allowing their children to enter such marital ties of their choice, yet they were terrified of social boycott and khap diktats.

Conclusion

The khaps play a strong role in villages. In fact, elected panchayats have little visibility in areas where khaps are active, an inspector general of police in Haryana said. After examining their diktats, one can say that khaps continue to act as a social control mechanism for the local community. The everyday life of villagers is effectively regulated by khaps and people follow these unquestioningly. Sangwan (1986) has argued that the khaps act as an agency of social control. In the khap belt, women are considered as custodians of honour, while men are their ‘protectors’ who must regulate women, physically as well as sexually (Chowdhry, 2006). Khaps in Haryana have been issuing diktats that impact girls and women the most: for instance, on an 'appropriate' dress code, a ban on the use of mobile phones and social networking sites, reducing the age of marriage, restricting visits to the market, and so on. In 2012, when a 16-year-old dalit girl was abducted and raped by seven Jat men, it was the girl who was held responsible. The khap has evolved regressive solutions to such rapes: in order to avoid such a situation, they said, girls needed to be married off at a young age (Devi, 2017). As soon as they attain puberty or at the age of 14 years, girls, it was decreed, should be married off as per wishes of community members. Studies have confirmed that the rules continue to be quite

flexible for boys while they remain rigid for girls (Dogra, 2015).

However, due to globalisation, modernisation, urbanisation, migration and spread of education girls are becoming visible slowly. They are performing better than boys in schools and are finding their voice. ¹⁰ Too many restrictions imposed on the girls have given rise to cases of elopement and some forms of resistance are being noticed. It can be noted that in some cases, the sister, mother, wife and aunt have stood up collectively and have courageously rejected the unconstitutional diktats of khaps (Devi, 2017). The media, members of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and some members of the administration have played an active role and supported these women who were able to reverse the decisions of the khaps. A welcome step taken by the khap was when the Satrol Khap allowed inter-caste marriages, although they continued the ban on marriages between the same gotra. Some amendments were made when a women’s wing was formed in 2014 (Kaur, 2014). Some khap members do admit that changes are required in the age-old norms that govern khaps, yet a bigger overall change is still awaited.