Khaps say they will continue opposing same-gotra marriages

ROHTAK : Even as the Supreme Court on Tuesday termed as completely illegal the act of khap panchayats attacking adult couples going in for inter-caste marriages, khaps across the state said they never had any problem in inter-caste marriages, but maintained that they would not allow samegotra (clan) marriages to take place.

“Check any village in Haryana, you will find at least 10 inter-caste marriages. We have never objected to it. In fact, we have been supporting it from a long time. We only prohibit that a man should not marry in his or his mother’s gotra because that would be impure. It is medically confirmed. We also prohibit marrying in nearby villages since we think children in connecting villages are brothers and sisters,” said Baljeet Malik, president of Malik khap, one of the largest in the country.

. “It is absolutely fair for us to not allow same-gotra marriages. South Indians, who don’t understand our culture and traditions here, have been opposing us, calling us regressive, said Santosh Dahiya, president of the women wing of Jat Sarv Khap Mahapanchayat.