Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 10 (IANS) Congress MP Naveen Jindal clarified Monday that he had not taken a stand on the demand of khap (caste) panchayats in Haryana to amend the Hindu Marriage Act to prevent marriage within a gotra (clan) but said he would take up the issue with the government.
“I have not taken any stand, nor has the government taken a stand,” Jindal told CNN-IBN channel, responding to queries about his letter to khap representatives.

In his letter, Jindal had acknowledged the existence of these panchayats since the time of rulers like Ashoka and Harshvardhan and said they had given a new direction to society.

The MP from Kurukshetra in Haryana said khap panchayats had demanded that people should not be allowed to marry in the same gotra.

“People have different views. They (khap panchayats) say there should not be marriages in the same gotra. I do feel this had more significance hundreds of years earlier because there were small clans and for medical reasons it was not good to be marrying and reproducing in the same clan,” he said.

The MP said the khap panchayats’ other demand was that there should not be marriages within a village.

He said the village was a very small community and the khap panchayats believe that a marriage in the same village would cause problems.

“That’s what they believe in. That’s what they say should be changed,” he said.

Jindal said people had a right to bring forth their issues and he would take these up before the government for debate in parliament and the state legislature. “They have a right to say what they want to say.”

In a meeting in Kaithal on May 2, khap panchayats had put all elected representatives in Haryana on a one-month notice to support their demand for amending the Hindu Marriage Act for banning same gotra marriages. They had also threatened Jindal with protests if he did not extend support to their demand.