Jaipur: A mechanical engineer, whose choice to keep a beard and preference for a particular colour in his turban, has become subjects of objection from Khap Panchayat leaders, who asked people of Chanchodi village of Pali district in Rajasthan to boycott the person's in-law's family.
The bizarre 'diktat' posed a threat of long periods of total social ostracisation for the family members, who are spending anxious days. Surprisingly, the law system in the country seems helpless to deal with the arbitrary 'ruling' of the leaders of the rural body.
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On April 22, Amrit Sutar, a resident of Mamlachanchodi village, got married to Pooja, a resident of Bali, who is a web developer by profession and based in Pune in connection with her job. The wedding and the rituals passed off with fanfare. According to Sutar, everything seemed normal during the first fortnight of the marriage.
"On May 5, I came to know that my family have been ostracised from society. I got the shock of my life when I came to know about the reasons for the social boycott," Sutar said. Khap leaders of Biswakarma Vansh Sudhar Samaj convened a meeting on July 19 asking villagers to keep their distance from family members of Puja. The Khap elders also said the family members of the groom's mistakes will be pardoned only when they ask for forgiveness for their misdeeds. A cas has ben lodged against the Khap Panchayat head Harilal, who, however, denied the charge.
