Death to girls who marry for love: Khap

Hardening its stand on love and marriages, an Uttar Pradesh khap panchayat has said those who marry against the family’s wishes or marry within the same ‘gotra’ (clan) must be killed.

On Tuesday, the khap, comprising chiefs of 36 communities, at its meeting in Muzaffarnagar district prohibited girls from using social sites and cell phones as they ‘spoil’ them and ‘symbolise western culture’.

“Try to persuade your daughters to shun their lovers. Throw them in the Ganga if they do not do so,” a senior member of the khap told the participants.

A senior Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader also asked the khap members to kill those who married within the same ‘gotra’.

“Such (those marrying within the same gotra) people are like mad dogs. What do we do with such dogs? We kill them,” the leader said.

He said the girls were being spoiled by WhatsApp and social  networking sites.
“They watch obscene films and porn sites. They must not be given cell phones and should be kept away from the social sites. It is the responsibility of the families,” the leader added.

The speakers also asked the participants not to be afraid of anyone when it came to ‘following their traditions’.

“We must follow and preserve our traditions,” they said.
The panchayat held at Shoram village was attended by hundreds of people from UP, Rajasthan and Haryana.

Earlier also, khap panchayats, especially in the Jat-dominated western UP regions, have issued similar diktats. They have warned of serious consequences if their orders were violated.

In the past  lovers have been killed and several families have faced social boycott in case they were found to have disobeyed the diktats of the khap panchayats.