In a strange judgment, a Khap panchayat of Hisar district, Haryana has instructed a newly-wed couple to get separated and break their marriage and develop a relation of brother and sister between them.
On December 6, Navin Kumar (26) who belonged to Sangha gotra got married to Babita (26) of Bura gotra in Sulkhani village, Hisar.
But now the Khap wants them to break their marriage as their gotras come in “bhaichara” and they have to behave like brother and sister due to it.
Babita works in a cooperative bank as an assistant manager in Guhla Cheeka town and she is from Saran village, Kaithal which is almost 100 km from Navin’s house.
On Wednesday, a panchayat was held at Sulkhani which was headed by Bura Khap president Hari Narayan and they have warned the boy’s family that if they don’t obey the judgment, they will be boycotted socially. The “bhaichara” concept states that no one from these nine villages can marry in Bura gotra.
The logic given for this judgment is that both the gotra – Bura and Sangha have come from same clan and they are brothers and sister. A former panch said, “How can we allow marriage of sister and brother?” The groom’s father said, “The panchayat members were putting pressure on us unnecessarily. I would approach the authorities and file a complaint against them if they continue with the threat. How can we break the marriage when it has been solemnized in the presence of all relatives and villagers.”
The Khap leaders have alleged that the boy’s family hide the fact that the girl was from Bura gotra and they came to know this when they went with the barat party, as told by a former panch, “The villagers came to know about this only when they went to the girl’s village as part of the barat party.”
Navin’s family has made up their mind to file a defamation case against the Khap leaders for insulting the newly-wed and families.
