Hisar, September 22: A “social panchayat” in Haryana’s Hisar district has passed a resolution against same-village love marriages and called for the social boycott of couples entering such marriages and those supporting them.
The panchayat, held in Arya Nagar village on Sunday, decided that couples marrying in violation of prevailing social norms would not be allowed to reside in the village.
The move came after three cases of women from the village marrying youths from the same village, with the latest marriage triggering the gathering, according to village representatives.
Village sarpanch Rattan Singh said the decision was taken by the social panchayat with the support of villagers.
“There have been three such instances in which daughters of the village married youths from the same village. However, the latest marriage, which took place a couple of days ago, triggered a reaction among villagers,” Singh said.
He added that the latest couple had stayed for some days at a district administration-run safe house for runaway couples in Hisar town.
Hanuman Verma, a local resident and BJP leader who attended the meeting, said villagers had unanimously decided to prohibit such marriages and not allow couples violating the norms to live in the village.
“A wrong precedent is being set in our village. As we consider all daughters (unmarried women) of the village as our own daughters, we regard them as sisters,” he said.
Verma said the meeting was convened after the family of a woman objected to her marriage with a youth from the same village. The gathering subsequently decided to discourage and prevent such marriages, he said.
Members of the panchayat described such marriages as a growing social problem and said the decision was aimed at preventing similar cases and sensitising youngsters about what they termed the social consequences of such marriages.
Some residents of the village have also shared posts about the panchayat’s decision on social media.
However, Hisar Superintendent of Police Siddhant Jain said there was no threat to the newly married couple.
He said the woman’s family had assured police that they had no objection to the marriage and that the couple was free to live wherever they wished.
The decision comes a month after a khap panchayat in Haryana’s Jind district also resolved to socially boycott couples entering marriages considered to be against prevailing social norms.
Such norms include marriages between residents of the same village, neighbouring villages or those belonging to the same ‘gotra’, under traditional customs that regard boys and girls from such groups as siblings.
Some youngsters, however, criticised the Arya Nagar panchayat’s decision on social media, describing the practice as an outdated taboo.
