YOU CAN HATE THEM BUT CAN’T IGNORE THEM

YOU CAN HATE THEM BUT CAN’T IGNORE THEM
This refers to the news that the young and educated forward looking Congress MP from Haryana Navin Jindal is taking up the cause of Khap Panchayats with the Central Government.
Khap Panchayats exert heavy influence on the societal behavior in the rural areas in north India. No people's representative can ignore them. They are the repositories of our ancient culture and tradition. Governments cannot simply ignore or wish them away. These Panchayats also represent democratic institutions. Their views and recommendations represent the majority views of the community. Therefore the democratically elected governments, like state and the central ones must respect the views of the Khap Panchayats. As demanded by them The Hindu Marriage Act should be amended to ban sagotra [same gotra] marriages not only to uphold and respect the ancient tradition but also to uphold high moral standards in the society. Otherwise tomorrow people of loose character may start marrying any one he or she lusts ignoring all the relations between themselves which may be likened to the behavior of the animals. Let us not go the wild characterless western way. Let us preserve our character and traditions. To this extent the Khap Panchayats are right. But if they take law into their own hands and order killings they are wrong.