Nationalist Congress party (NCP) MP Fauzia Khan during zero hour in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday raised the issue of khap panchayats and demanded that the government bring a law to abolish them as they are acting contrary to the law of land.
She said, “As law has been made to abolish ‘Sati’ and Child marriage, there should be law to abolish khap panchayat also as a law has been made in Maharashtra.”
Khap panchayats are said to be organisations representing a clan of few particular castes and are found mostly in northern India, particularly among a few communities of Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh.
They are not affiliated with any elected government bodies and are instead concerned with the affairs of particular caste. The khaps have no official government recognition, but have significant social influence within the community.
