People's Democracy

HOMICIDE IN THE NAME OF HONOUR --- 2

Reform Movements Needed to

Erase This Spot on Civilisation

Inderjit Singh

TODAY, whatever is taking place in the name of khap panchayats is basically casteist mobilisation in the name of gotra affiliations, for the sake of some political gains. This situation has come because, in order to garner votes, the parties of the ruling classes have been appeasing the casteist forces, along with other parochial forces, and giving them strength. On the other hand, for example, in all cities, bigwigs of various caste groups have been allotted big chunks of land at negligible prices, in the name of construction of dharmashalas. It is therefore not surprising that these dharmashalas have become the centres of casteist mobilisation.

APPEASEMENT OF

CASTEIST FORCES

Haryana chief minister B S Hudda is a classic example of how far the ruling class politicians can go in their appeasement drive. Instead of protecting a citizen’s rights sanctioned by the constitution and defending the rule of law, this person, who today heads the executive in the state, glorified the khap panchayats which are acting like parallel courts or kangaroo courts. In the same way, BJP people have already penetrated these khap panchayats. Nay, even the State Women’s Commission did not hesitate to declare that these illegal bodies are the guardians of culture.

It is then not difficult to envisage how the law implementation machinery would behave in such a situation when the ruling parties are so sadly devoid of political willpower to take these bodies head on. We all are aware of the mental make-up of several past and serving high officials of the police and administration. They are not only in the grip of a feudal and casteist mentality but are also ever eager to do any illegal act at the bidding of the ruling class politicians.

At the level of village, the dominant people are always afraid of their possible loss of power and that is why they rake up petty issues or even non-issues in order to incite the people of their castes or some other castes against one or another group. Generally, these are the people who are opposed to the organisation of agricultural workers, poor peasants, women and youth. Any demand of social justice, any democratic activity, in the village is an anathema to these chaudharies.      

NON-ISSUES TAKEN UP,

REAL ONES IGNORED

The hue and cry being raised today in the name of intra-gotra marriages and the demand of certain retrograde amendments to the Hindu Marriage Act are this very type of exploitation of sentiments. In Haryana, as we said earlier, such marriages are virtually non-existent, as the people have themselves been observing the taboos enjoined by the caste and gotra rules. For example, there is a custom that while deciding a marriage alliance, five generations on one’s father’s side and three on one’s mother’s side are excluded. 

Yet, these casteist forces sometimes succeed in misleading a good number of people on such petty issues or non-issues by generating fears about the threats to religion, culture, custom and tradition, and stressing the need of rising in their defence. However, if one coolly ponders a little, one will find that such fears are unfounded to the core and that such threats are totally imaginary.

On the other hand, these khap panchayats and other such bodies have no concern for the real and weighty issues of today. The fact is that the traditional institution of marriage is itself passing through a very profound crisis today. As we know, people observe all the caste and gotra rules while deciding a marriage alliance; the parents of a girl cough out large amounts of money as dowry; they also spend large amounts in marriage preparations and keeping in good humour the guests coming in the marriage processions; and fulfil all the ceremonies which the custodians of religion enjoin upon them. Yet, as we see around us, several of these marriages either break down or reach the verge of breaking down within a few years of their solemnisation. Many a married girl gets compelled to take shelter in her parental home where, in most cases, she and her children (if any) are treated as unwanted guests. A very substantial number of married girls are victims of most brutal kinds of dowry related violence and some of them are even killed by their in-laws.  

This kind of sharp fall in womankind’s position in our society mast be a cause of deep concern for all of us. But the khap panchayats and other such bodies have been observing a stoic silence on this issue. 

REAL GAMEPLAN

OF CASTE BIGWIGS

But, if these self-appointed guardians of gotra rules, of custom and tradition are not concerned with dowry, marital violence and other such real and weighty issues, are they really concerned with the gotra rules alone? The reality is different.

If these bodies were really concerned about gotra rules alone, what was the need of holding a particular caste group’s panchayat for perpetrating anti-dalit violence? This was the case in Gohana and Mirachpur villages where some dalits were murdered and many of their houses burnt to ashes. In Dulina, casteist elements forcibly entered a police station and held there a panchayat to declare five arrested persons as gobhaktas (cow-worshippers), while these people were involved in the murder of some dalits. After the unfortunate rail accident in Godhra in Gujarat (2002), houses of several poor Muslim artisans in Loharu town of Bhiwani district were gutted down, and the bigwigs of several khaps were involved in this extremely heinous communal action, for which several persons were arrested.

These instances show that the khap panchayats and casteist forces have some other agenda in view, which in fact is not very hidden, and they are trying to mobilise people by exploiting their sentiments in the name of gotra rules. This is their way of reasserting their superiority, protect their tottering authority, and fulfil their narrow interests.

BROADER

CONTEXT

The whole phenomenon must also be viewed in the broader context today. All this is taking place at a time when imperialism, with its globalisation and neo-liberal policies, seeks to dominate the agriculture, industry, commerce and services in the poor and developing countries. Because of our ruling classes’ capitulation before imperialism, large-scale attacks are taking place on the people’s rights in the fields of education, health, employment, wages, food security, social security and public amenities. The agrarian crisis is increasingly worsening and peasants in a progressively increasing number are losing land because of excruciating debt burdens. Big Indian and foreign companies are cornering agricultural tracts at dirt-cheap prices.

All this is generating a sense of frustration among various sections of the people, and their anger is perfectly justified. However, there is also the danger that if the democratic forces fail to channelise this anger for pro-change agitations, vested interests may well mould it in fratricidal channels. Preventing the people from uniting on the class lines is a part of the agenda of world imperialism, and this is sought to be achieved by strengthening the negative identities of various sections of the population. Vested interests, indigenous and foreign, are therefore seeking to promote identity politics based on caste, clan, religion, region etc in a big way. To mobilise various castes in the name of gotra sanctity is as much a part of this drive as is the politics of religious fanaticism in the name of our ancient culture and its revival. It is not surprising that the BJP, VHP and other saffron outfits have extended support to the activities of the self-righteous khap panchayats, and their men are very much active in these bodies.

There is a curious aspect as well of the whole phenomenon. The same imperialism which seeks to strengthen these parochial forces, also provides them a ground to justify themselves. As we know, consumerism is rampant today in every walk of life, and this applies to the inter-sex relations as well. The ideologists of imperialism are commodifying the female-folk, which is leading to a loss of healthy moral values. Media, the powerful purveyors of shameless and crass commercialism, are teaching the young boys and girls to treat one another as objects of sexual gratification and not as co-citizens with equal rights, duties and dignity. The result is that the evil of sexual exploitation is gaining ground in the classrooms, offices and playgrounds. But this very product of imperialist culture and commercialised mentality is also something which the retrograde forces are presenting as a threat to the Indian culture in order to mobilise people behind them.

This trend can be fought only when we run a powerful socio-cultural campaign against the degenerate culture and integrate it with our fight against the neo-liberal policies and in defence of the people’s interests.

DISTORTED

DEVELOPMENT

As for the north-western parts of the country, there is more social backwardness in this region as compared to several other parts of the country. The result is that casteism, male chauvinism and other feudal values are quite rampant here. Moreover, the feudal formations and forces did gain much strength as a result of the compromise which Indian capitalism effected with these formations and forces in the country, more so after the transfer of power in 1947. Indian politics today presents a myriad of ugly spectacles testifying to the dominance of these forces in the countryside.  

Haryana and some other states occupy a unique place in this scenario as there is a big discrepancy between economic development and social development here. The state of Haryana is a prosperous state, with a high degree of poverty and unemployment at the other end. It also lags behind on most of the social indicators, like sex ratio, women’s plight, attacks on dalits, alarming rise in crime graph, etc. Democratic institutions did not strike deep roots here in social life at the grassroots. The scenario of distorted development around the national capital, Delhi, is rushing benefits to only big companies and a handful of people while large chunks of people are being driven to increasing misery.    

The spread of literacy and education in the recent decades has led to a degree of modernisation and a change in the thinking of the new generations. Changes are visible even in the life style in rural areas. Dependence of the poor individuals and families upon the rural elite has declined to an extent. Dalits and the backward have acquired a new sense of self-respect. The youth prefer to exercise their own discretion and choice instead of following the earlier mores. The All India Democratic Women’s Association and other democratic organisations have done some good work in this regard. Though still quite weak in the state, the CPI(M) and the Left have raised their voice against the retrograde forces that are violating the civil liberties and democratic rights of the people while acting like parallel courts. It is these forces who view the rising democratic conscious among the people as a threat to their dominance. This is why these forces are raising all this hullabaloo in the name of custom and tradition.

However, any fulfilment of the people’s aspirations requires a change in the existing structures that promote their oppression and exploitation. Today, the big question is this: Will the contradiction between the status quo and change be resolved in favour of these retrograde forces or will lead towards more equality, more social justice and more harmony? The need of the day is a multifaceted fight against the guardians of conservatism as well as against the decadent imperialist modernity and the pro-imperialist neo-liberal policies. The need is to isolate the vested interests in order to weaken their politics of casteism, and compel the administration and police to fulfil their constitutional duties in favour of social justice.

All this requires a wide-scale social reform movement while fighting for the economic and political rights of the people, and all the Left, democratic and progressive forces have to join this battle for secularism, equality and justice. (Concluded)

Some Areas Need Statute Amendments

IT is quite an alarming trend that those guilty of heinous crimes get scot-free by utilising the lacunae in the existing laws. This requires positive amendments to the existing laws regarding dowry, marriages, social oppression, etc. Enactment of a special law to deal with the cases of ‘honour killing’ is especially important because near relatives of the victims are involved in such murders and therefore getting an eye-witness to any such crime is extremely difficult. The fear of social boycott and retribution also prevents many individuals from speaking out.

Such a situation requires certain far-reaching amendments in the Indian Penal Code. Cognisance of the untimely death of any young person and post mortem of the body must be made compulsory for the law enforcement machinery. An accused in such a case must be obliged to prove that he is not guilty. Those who dictate, encourage or justify such killings and those who honour the killers must also be made accused in any such case. The police must also be deterred from registering an FIR regarding a girl’s abduction unless it thoroughly investigates the complaint. This is necessary because some people lodge a complaint that so-and-so has abducted a girl of their family, and take the help of the police to trace the whereabouts of the girl and her so-called abductor, though in several cases they both are adults, have run away on their own volition in order to escape the wrath of the relatives, have married outside and are living like a couple. In many such cases, the young couple are murdered after the police trace them out and bring them back to the village concerned.