This refers to the report that in parts of Haryana, khap panchayats are against daughters inheriting property and do everything possible to deprive women of their right to inherit. It cites the case of a woman who has filed a case against her father.
Fighting for ancestral property may be justified. But how far is it right to force a man, who has spent a lifetime on acquiring his property, to part with it during his lifetime? Doesn’t he have the right to enjoy his assets as long as he lives?
E. Vamshi Krishna Reddy,
New Delhi
Khap panchayats or similar institutions working across the country are an impediment to inclusive democracy and development. They are extra-constitutional bodies which shackle women. It is due to the khap panchayats that there is a decline in the child sex ratio and women are oppressed. The need of the hour is to take stringent steps to eliminate khap panchayats.
Tariq Ahmad Lone,
New Delhi
One wonders whether democracy functions in Haryana. The diktats of khap panchayats are undemocratic, illegal and uncivilised. That the law-enforcing agencies have failed to rein in this organised goondaism is astonishing.
S. Lakshman,
Bangalore
The exercise of the right to inheritance is hardly empowerment. Women act under pressure. Any property gained from the father often ends up being transferred to the husband. The law is used as another tool to extract dowry. The khap panchayats are right in opposing it.
To fight social evils, we need to understand the actual social reality. Looking as issues through theoretical constructs like patriarchy or laws which have innumerable loopholes will vitiate the debate and create more confusion instead of offering a solution.
Prince Kadyan,
Panipat
