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Khap is a community organization representing a clan or a group of related clans has a great effect on the functions of particular society. The sense of community feeling, cooperation, a traditional value system and the feeling of togetherness provide the main strength to the Khap Panchayat. With some cluster of functions, Khap have some dysfunctions by which it has own negative face. The study seeks to understand the historical background, functions of Khap Panchayat and impact of Khap Panchayat on women’s life. Area of study is Muzaffarnagar and Shamli District of Uttar-Pradesh. By using purposive sampling 20 women have been selected to study as Case study. The study found that khap Pamchayt has huge impact on women in the term of their personal choices, education, and married life along with their views about love marriage, inter-caste marriage etc.

1. To analyze the historical background and functions of Khap Panchayat. 2. To study the impact of Khap Panchayat on women’s life.

Unconstitutional and independent social-political group, Khap's usually made lead lines because of its non-legal decision in race, love marriage & honor killing. Khap Panchayat enforce age old patriarchal notions of the society and punish those who violate them, it uses cultural excuses to tolerate or justify discrimination and violence against women. In Jat community inter-caste marriages are still not permitted. Khap's decisions and orders show their gender biasness for example – marriage of Jat woman to lower caste man becomes the burning issue for Khaps. However, if a Jat man marries a woman from a lower caste, he does not attract severe censure from Khap. Many Jat men now get married to lower caste women from Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and so on because the sex ratio in Haryana is highly skewed.

The districts Muzaffarnagar and Shamli of Uttar Pradesh were selected purposively for the study because these two districts were most severely affected by Khap Panchayat. From the selected districts, 20 women members (10 members from each district) were selected as respondents. The present study is based on case study method. For processing and analysis of the collected data qualitative method has been used to arrive at conclusions. Data has been collected through observation, interview and oral history have been analyzed qualitatively.

Context in Historical Background and Function

According to local beliefs, the Sarv-Khap Panchayat was organized in 7^th century by emperor Harsha at Prayag (modern Allahabad). The written historical records of different Khap Panchayats and Sarva Khap Panchayats give evidence that there was a metting (10th Ashad, Samvat 1256, 1191 AD) of Sarva Khap Panchayats held at Tikri village of Meerut which was attended by 60,000 people of various Khap (Pradhan, 1969). Khap Panchayats became very powerful when they extended military support to Ibrahim Lodhi in 1517 against his brother and Maharana Sangram Singh in 1527 against Babar (Thenua, B., 2016). Being close to Delhi, the political capital of the Sultans and later the Mughal rulers, land revenue in most of the Jat areas was collected directly by royal officials under the supervision of central authority (Mareland, 1963). In times, a section of Jats became a part of the revenue collection mechanism when they were employed in the posts of Choudharis and Muqaddamms in parganas and villages respectively. The dominant class of Jats who emerged as Chaudhris and Muqaddamms became still larger owners of land using the influence of their official position. This class also began playing important roles in the Khap's by wielding the weight that property tends proximity to political power gave them. While Khaps were used by Jat landlords to make bargains and compromises with the Mughal rulers to maintain or strengthen their role as intermediaries in the land revenue system (Kumar, 2012). Even after the establishment of a ‘Modern’ state based on the rule of law during the colonial period, Khap's remained a parallel socio political authority that served as a means for its influential leaders to so consolidate their social and political status (Ibid).

Generally, a Khap is consisted as a socio-political unit of 84 villages. The structure of Khap, consisted of 7 villages is Thamba, these 12 Thambas from a unit of 84 villages, called Khap Panchayat. A Khap Panchayat is divided into a number of political sub-units called Thamba Panchayat. A Thamba is comprises with a number of neighboring villages varying from Thamba to Thamba. It is divided into a number of informal Gamvand Panchayats. A group of 5 to 8 neighboring villages is called Gamvand (Pradhan, 1965). The ‘Sarv Khap Panchayat’ is a term used for all Khaps.

Every individual Khap elect their leaders who choose delegates to be sent to the Sarv Khap level to be represented as Khap there. Since, it is a socio- political organization, it consists of the clans or sub-castes, castes and ommunities at the regional level. Across Rajasthan, U.P., Haryana and Delhi, there are over 600 Khaps, and of those, around 106 are in Haryana alone (Rajpurohit & Kaur, 2015). Khaps could be classified into following categories:

1.     Based on Single Caste and Single Gotra, Example: - Dahiya Khap, Huda Khap, Malik Khap, Sangwan Khap, Balyan Khap and so on.

2.     Based on Single Caste and Multiple Gotra (when entire villages and area dominated by a single caste, with some of the villages dominated by various Gotras) Example: - Chaubitii Khap (24 villages of Maham in Rohtak District of Haryana).

3.     Based on a Multi-Caste and Multiple Gotra (This system is renowned as having villages’ in particular geographical area of which some villages are dominated by a particular caste and other villages by other castes but different Gotras). Example: - Bawal Khap of Chaurasi in the Rawari District.

Khap Panchayats Perform Following Functions

1.     Till the establishment of the judicial system, Khap's were socially famous and relevant to harmonious settlements of disputes.

2.     The main role of Sarv Khap is to maintain the peace and harmony between the various Khaps by settling disputs between them or by passing resolution related to the social welfare of the people such as education of girls, ban on female foeticide and dowry, limited expenditure of the marriage etc.

3.     In structure and functioning, Khap Panchayats are ‘Participatory’ in spirit and served as public forums where differences could be sorted out by direct negotiated settlements between both parties without wasting too much time or money.

4.     Khap heads act as opinion leaders for their respective clans. Youngsters respect them too.

5.     Khaps played an important role in the peasant movements of Kandela, Adampur and Nisingh led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union.

Here are some resolutions and orders which were passed by Khap Panchayat at time to time; Marriages within the same Gotras is forbidden since in that case a boy and girl are regarded as a brother and sister, Marriages in the different Gotras are forbidden if a boy and girl belong to the same village or physically adjoining villages, Inter-caste marriages are strictly barred, Girls cannot dress in such a manner which is not acceptable by the community For example: - Girl cannot wear Jeans. Girls cannot marry by own choice or against wish of family or community, girls cannot use mobiles etc.

Context in Impact of Khap Panchayat on Women

Khap’s ideology believed that their culture is superior than others that’s why they work for protection and preservence of their culture. They work for aikya (unity), izzat (honor), biradari (community) and bhaichara (brotherhood). Khap Panchatyat negative impacts include practice of Honor killing, forced marriages, female feticide, discrimination against women, gender inequality and violence of Human right and fundamental rights.

Baliyan Khap has banned mobile phones for women in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli district. Forced marriages have been performed by pressurizing on or both the parties and without their free will and free consent in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli District. The victims of forced marriages, especially the girls, experience torture, threat, mental and physical abuse. Baliyan Khap has banned wearing jeans for Girls in the study area. Baliyan Khap helped in marriages of poor girls. Baliyan Khap worked for girls’ education by establishing colleges in his own area. Respondents of case study are not agreed with the ban of mobile phones for girls as they said that mobile can help a lot in their study. Respondents’ answers indicate that most of decisions of their life are taken by their parents, especially by father. They have no right to make choices. What their family say, they have to do the same whether they want it or not. Respondents agreed that Khap’s orders are often biased on the basis of gender and caste and Khap’s ideology has greatly affected their personal choices, especially life style and thoughts. Few respondents told that for education Khap opened a degree college for girls and so their parents don’t send them outside or to other degree colleges.

On the basis of above facts, impact of Khap Panchayat on women’s life can be clearly seen on their life style, thoughts and choices. Many respondents don’t even know about their rights that they can make choices and have liberty to live their life according to their own wills not according to Khap. The study also shows that the khap exist today with as much importance as in previous time. Khap's enjoy the confidence of community since they act as an important agency of social control. The Khap's have a say on various issues of the village in order to sustain law and order and peace by imposing certain norms and sanctions on the people. The study also reveals that the Khap's are now trying to enhance their public image by releasing some bans on marriage rules which will in turn strengthen their role and still tighten the grip of authority in the villages. They are working for betterment of the people too but as per to their own convenience.

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