Khap panchayats in india: precepts and practices

In India, the Panchayati Raj System was introduced with the aim of decentralization and democratization. However, Khap Panchayats, the self proclaimed courts of caste lords in a village, enjoy full legitimacy and authority as ‘custodians of honor’. It is through them that most regressive views are sought to be implemented. Khap adjudications are purely feudal and patriarchal in nature. Honour killings, barbaric murders committed for the sake of preserving the honour of a family, a clan or a village, are the medieval remnants of regressive tribal societies that have persisted for far too long into the modern liberal age. In the name of preserving Indian culture, they are perpetuating crimes and thereby nurturing a culture of crimes for descendents. These are acts that the International community considers as mostly confined to the Arab-Muslim world. Khap Panchayats, institutions originally designed for defense against invaders were and remain essentially caste Panchayats comprised of upper and middle-caste land owners. They function as judicial entities parallel to the state judiciary that have built their power by subordinating the poor and their diktats are focused on perpetuating caste hierarchies. Khap Panchayats/ Caste Panchayats, the earlier credible bodies with a social outlook, are now highly politicized. They are active in various states of the country at a time when the country is going through rapid social and economic advancements. As India tries to fly high the disgraceful judgments of the self proclaimed courts of caste lords definitely erase its reputations. Indian judiciary has come a long way but still much remains to be achieved in order to protect our society from the clutches of unlawful and unconstitutional dispensers of (in) justice. It is in this backdrop that the paper attempts to highlight the pattern of crime propagated by the so called custodians of honour.