The lead was taken by Haryana's main opposition party Indian National Lok Dal's supreme Om Parkash Chautala. Some of the state Congress's second-rung leaders including the billionaire Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal followed him. After some flip-flop, the Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda also publicly supported the demand for a ban on the same-gotra marriages. When the Congress faced criticism for backing the caste bodies on the issue, its central spokesman said that what their state leaders said was their personal views. He needs to be told that the publicly taken stand by politicians holding public offices cannot be treated as their personal views.

Despite their denials, the main reason for the politicians support to the demand is their vote bank politics. Although some of them claim that these bodies represent all the communities of their villages, none of them can deny that basically they are caste bodies dominated by Jats who are Haryana's most important vote bank representing around one-fourth of its electorate. These bodies have particularly acquired relevance in the wake of the outcome of the state Assembly and Lok Sabha elections held during the last five years.

In the 2005 Assembly and 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress swept the polls inflicting humiliating defeat on the INLD and the BJP. The main reason for the Congress victory was the shifting of Jats support from the INLD to the Congress. The Deswal Jat belt of Rohtak-Jhajjar-Sonipat and adjoining areas which are the stronghold of Chief Minister Hooda overwhelmingly voted for the Congress. However, in the prematurely held 2009 Assembly elections, considerable number of Jats shifted their loyalty back to the INLD resulting in its increasing its 2005 tally of nine seats to 31 and the Congress failing to secure a majority.

The main argument advanced in support of khap panchayats is that they are social organizations and have for centuries been playing an important role in social field and as protectors of customs and traditions. Well, they might have played some positive social role in the medieval years. With changing times, customs and traditions undergo changes. Those who do not march with the changed times are ultimately buried under history's debris.

Protagonists of banning the same-gotra marriages cannot be oblivious of the fact that there was a time when marriages in this region, particularly in Punjab, used to be solemnized only after taking are that the four gotras -two of the boy's and two of the girl's parents and maternal parents- did not match. Now this may be happening only in rare cases. Even if it happens, no social body issues diktats to ban it. The matter is, and should be, treated as a personal and family affair in which no outsider has the right to interfere. This should be the case with the same-gotra marriages also. If khap panchayats do not approve of same-gotra marriages, they should leave it to their believers to avoid them. They should not be allowed to issue diktats ostracizing the same-gotra married couples or their families, and worse, to kill the couples who opt for such marriages. Chief Minister has repeatedly declared that no body would be allowed to take the law into his hands. But if the khaps demand for ban on same-gotra marriages gets official seal, it would embolden the Administration to turn their eyes away from such lawless activities.

Some medieval customs and social evils which do not fit in the changed times have already been banished by time or under law. Sati, once the custom under which the widow of a person used to be forced to burn herself by sitting on the pyre of his dead husband was long banned by law. Similarly, the tradition of ghagra-wearing woman of a village or those of near relatives visiting the house of the dead person and mourn by performing siappa (beating their breasts for hours) long back ceased to be the custom. The evil customs of child marriages and dowry are also no longer permitted by law.

Some supporters of the ban on same-gotra marriages claim that marriage outside the gotra is a way of ensuring genetic diversity. Genetic diversity is built into the human species, regardless of gotra or clan. According to experts, so long as two lovers belong to different genders, not different gotras, genetic diversity is guaranteed.

The khaps controversy shows that Haryana has become a picture of sharp contrasts. After its formation in 1966, the state has acquired the reputation of India's one of the most developed and modern states. But it continues to be backward in the social arena despite having been a strong centre of the reformist Arya Samaj movement. Its politicians, irrespective of political hues, need to come out of the shells of their vested political interests not only for the sake of Haryana's image but also for establishment a healthy and modern social order, particularly in the rural Haryana. (IPA Service)