Gotra row: Haryana couple allowed to stay married
By IANSWednesday, May 19, 2010
ROHTAK - A couple, served with a diktat by a Scheduled Caste (SC) community panchayat to either annul the marriage or leave their village in this district, was Wednesday allowed to live as husband and wife.
Kulwant Maidal of Samain village married Sushila Badgujjar of Panipat district May 16. Since they were of the same gotra, the village panchayat Tuesday asked them to annul their marriage or leave the village within 10 days.
However, the panchayat withdrew its diktat Wednesday after the intervention of police and allowed the couple to stay married in the village.
“Our officials went to the village and held a meeting with the panchayat members. They have convinced them to take back their illogical verdict. Now, everything is normal in the village,” Anil Kumar Rao, district police chief, told IANS.
“We have reached a compromise with Kulwant’s family. Now, they can live here as husband and wife. We have no problem with it,” a panchayat member said.
Haryana panchayats are notorious for giving such diktats for marriages solemnised within the same clan.
The Haryana khap panchayats (community councils) are demanding an amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act and a complete ban on marriages within the same gotra or ancestral lineage.
