Amend Hindu Marriage Act, demand khap panchayats

Thirty-one khap (caste) panchayats in the State on Sunday demanded amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act to prohibit marriages in the same gothra (clan) and within the same village.

At a meeting at Danoda village in the district, president of the Binain khap Nafe Singh said marriages in the same gothra and within the same village were against the Hindu tradition.

‘Maha panchayat'

The meeting warned that if the Act was not amended at the earliest, a “maha panchayat” of various khaps would be organised at Pai in Kaithal district on May 2 to decide the future course of action. It blamed the media for dragging khap panchayats into controversies and pointed out that they had been playing an important role in the social life of the people.

These panchayats were in the news recently for their diktats opposing marriages in the same

gothra and within the same village.