Khap perceptions and prospects

Khap: Perceptions and Perspectives

GIAN SINGH

RURAL INDIA UNDER SIEGE Save Family, Community And Khap

Khap

Published by:

Tehrik Publications 383/6 Fatehpuri Colony Rohtak-124001, India

Rohtak, India: 2013/2014

t

Circulation is the best price

t Acknowledgement will be appreciated, if used in any manner.

Perceptions and Perspectives

gekjh rgthc Part of our culture

A village conclave

Khap

Any such change that props individualism and destroys family, community and its neighbourhood Bhaichara with resourceless existence is bound to affect the future of a nation, destroying its rhythm irretrievably. No sensible person can support such a path to ruin and degradation unbound.

- from the book

Perceptions and Perspectives

CONTENTS Sn.

Chapter

Introductory Note

Page

i - vii

1.

The Problem

1 - 18

2.

The Strange World Of Myths

19 - 24

3.

The Adversary Note

25 - 26

4.

Rural India : A Different Landscape

27- 36

5.

Rural-Urban Divide

37 - 42

6.

Cultural Divide A Story in History

43 - 52

7.

Khap system

53 - 62

8.

Myths Analysed

63 - 86

i. CA Debate ii. Emerginng Issues 9.

10.

Charges Examined Education As Tool

87 - 122 123 -128

11.

Role of Political Parties

129 -144

12.

Media As Crusader

145 - 148

13.

Rural India under Siege

149 - 152

14.

Sum-Up and Lessons

153 - 165

References, Annex.

166 - 168

Khap

The Present Is Stinking: Let Us Dream About Future

Perceptions and Perspectives

Introductory Note Rural India is facing a tragedy of sorts at present. First it used to be an object of pity; for its hard labour and poverty from the urban high-brow. None cared to tell about the level of expropriation rural economy went through. Now it is under siege unmistakably for all the absurd reasons along with Khap, as its way of collective thought and action. The tragic aspect is that urban educated class, which directly or indirectly benefitted from this loot in Indian history, has come to be the pall-bearer of this cultural assault on this population that is simple and straight in conduct but harbours a good sense of self dignity born of honest labour.

May not be mistaken; it is the education, manipulated and designed basically by the British colonialists, which has bred this hostility to keep the system of expropriation going.

Urban-rural divide is a boiling pot now.

The attack on the very values of village life is done on one pretext or the other and the media, bred and tutored on British traditions, is on seventh sky for the achievements gained so far. None can describe better the absurdity of pretexts than an Englishman of letters like George Bernard Shaw who spoke of such souls of virtues, as he did about his own countrymen. Let us hear him: ‘There is nothing so bad or so good that you will not find Englishman doing it; but you will never find Englishman in the wrong. He does everything on principles: he fights you on patriotic principles, he robs you on business principles; he enslaves you on imperial principles, but he bullies you on manly principles; he supports his king on loyal principles and cuts off his king’s head on republican principles’. i

Khap To summarise in few words, with our past experience of the elite class of independent India, it is safe to say that the country is truly following this English tradition as past rulers desired us to do. What this class has been doing with our own rural population for over past six decades so laboriously, it is being done on one puerile principle or the other and is proud enough to do it with little mind to its victims. Nothing surprising about the fine tradition this class is proud of; it is the grammar of exploitation unlimited.

Educated and trained on British traditions, Indian hunters are as past-masters in the game of greed and deceit to overpower adversaries. The siege is undertaken, despite egalitarian principle in the promise book; development as the swan song in this case. At the threshold of independence India was promised a bliss, but now it stands betrayed for wrong reasons with motives that are not honourable. None could have predicted it in 1949 when Constitution took shape though few souls were worried over how events went.

Events however went by design: Country was led on the rocky path of ruin by pushing rural economy, mostly dependent on family farming, to a death-trap. It makes a tragic story of manipulation and deceit. Now final blows are planned for its phased strangulation. The current campaign against Khap is meant to facilitate this clearance operation as per script to the benefit of money bags.

It is a well recognised principle in Political Thought that self-management of their life by the people is the best form of governance. No benevolent ruler or welfare state can beat self-governance by the people themselves in satisfaction – the ultimate litmus test of any good management universally.

Khap practice or it’s like had provided that level of satisfaction and gave cohesive stability to the village community in its long history of survival which no ruler at top, elected or hereditary, could provide in India. It is history. ii

Perceptions and Perspectives However, corporate media in India has gone highly creative with Khap / Gotra Khap question1 and has taken to itself the task of cleansing rural India of ‘feudal moss’ making it fit for modern times of its own make resorting to lies, half truths, make beliefs and abuses with little care for probity.

It is a different media, notably different from the one which had its roots in the freedom struggle as a vibrating instrument of people. Present media is no champion of human rights in general: it cares a hoot for these rights of the people when they are fighting against oppression and exploitation for survival. In this era of ‘Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation’ (LPG henceforth) since 1991, the transformation of media as a powerful instrument in the hands of ‘Corporate Capital’ usurping a constitutional right of the people has made the situation much worse for rural masses to comprehend and combat effectively.

Please note the health of present day media: there are 1500 newspapers, 1100 magazines, 9000 radio stations, 1500 TV stations, 2400 publishers, owned only by 3 powerful corporations in the world as enterprises like any other to earn profit as also to act as its instrument in controlling thought of the ruled masses. Please also note: Ambani of Reliance purchased 27 channels for 4000 crores rupees in one go the very day its pal, Narender Modi led BJP was declared winner in general elections to Lok Sabha on 16th.

May, 2014, to add to its fleet of media already in its possession Truly, common people are living in a different world, as once Mr. Chris Hedges said where: doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the Press destroys information, Religion destroys morals, And our banks destroy the economy.

iii

Khap Result is that rural India now stands prejudiced against as never before. Khap is made a red-rag by this media on behalf of these vested interests. The purpose behind this planned and co-ordinated tirade is truly sinister in nature for Indian society as a whole. It casts a duty on incumbents to clean their dirt in its conduct which is beyond the basic characteristics of this community practice.

In response to the current controversy regarding Khap, inflamed by the powerful media duly assisted by a good section of political leadership, academia and so-called intelligentsia as part of neo-rich middle class around questions of ‘free sex, love, marriage’, this exercise is taken up to answer few skewed arguments of this campaign. It seems these gentlemen got up with jerk from their long slumber of six decades to turn extra-conscious of ‘human rights’ all of a sudden claiming a fight against feudal elements and patriarchy in Indian society at a time when more serious questions of social life are crying for attention. Khap became their question of concern with ridicule and abused it for a period. However, when the concept of Bhaichara got a flogging, the contours of the campaign emerged in clear terms and the response became essential.

To give substance to the attack on mores of rural life, charge is made that Khaps kill, or incite to kill young lovers who go for their own choice. Media went creative and invented a new term ‘honour killing’ to depict it more atrocious than a usual murder as rural barbarity of Stone Age genre. A fictitious documentary by that name sought to provide colour for the jihad. Whole rural population stood charged for harbouring age-old prejudices on matters Gotra and sticking to its conservative past that have the potentiality to frighten FDI which is so essential now to come here for rapid capitalist development! This charge, however, made the object of tirade amply transparent and its real target too bare and stark to ignore any more. iv

Perceptions and Perspectives With this picture emerging, response could not be delayed. We are constrained to keep it as sharp.

We first watched. Initially, the media as carrier of this tirade dutifully manufactured requisite ‘opinion’ before real directors of the campaign came on stage out of dark corners ready for the hunt and start throwing tantrums in concert.

Rural rustics were asked to go out of their way. Starting from the then blue-eyed boy of corporate world, as Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, with National Commission for Women to the Law Commission and stalwarts from opposition parties like Marxist duo Vrinda, Prakash Karat, socialist Sharad Yadav to luminaries like J. S. Verma and many other secondrung sundries of consequence duly supplemented by NGOs sector cried foul to demand heads in tandem on the strength of this contrived opinion forgetting all pretences about their democratic faith. The snaring cat was out in the field immediately with its sharp paws ready.

The whole campaign against Khap and village life style in the country is based on the philosophy of Individualism – the life saviour of capitalist mode, dutifully fortified by its international bodies like UNO and later WTO after coming into being in 1994 through various conventions/declarations and agreements in a chain to keep the contrived system on move, continuously taking every aspect of social life in fold so that individualism is kept alive and kicking.

Keep note: all these institutions under the benign benevolence of state etablishments are forged basically not to help the distressed masses to live but to keep its industrialcommercial mode of production-distribution floating and safeguard their sectarian interests. NGO sector was adopted

by IMF and WTO as a matter of additional task sponsored

by America to assist them in pursuing larger interests of corporate world in a minesweeping job. On fighting Khaps in this campaign, NGOs in India proved their worth. We were not amused and took due notice. v

Khap When the matter reached at the door of Supreme Count through a sponsored PIL, the issues came out in sharp contrast and all the dark faces working so far in cloudy chambers became visible in sufficient light. We marked them and all essential ingredients of the shaddy story became bared. It will be dealt with at appropriate place.

We hope it is the time to strike at roots of this evil. First it is imperative to start with clearing the conceptual mix up on the question of family itself which in fact is the target of this tirade to demolish. Khap came in between as its defence mechanism and so its immediate target.

The intention of this exercise on our part is not to present an academic treatise on rural economy as such or the Khap; this exercise is to explore and defend the rural characteristics at their pristine best that have emerged in course of social interaction in the interest of better future.

These socially useful characteristics of village life are still relevant for a collective way of existence with much to contribute for a better mode in modern times. None can reasonably refute the logic of the communitarian mode of existence provided one does not see the issues from highly tinted glasses of a self-centred urban life.

At its peak, the crusade against Khap was led by corporate media like Times of India, Indian Express and Frontline, EPW to name a few, including a Hindi daily Jansatta.

Chandigarh based The Tribune marvelled with one or two among the leftist enthusiasts taking chunk of its space. It is by now a pet theme with one and all in both print and electronic media, behaving more like robots to pursue a given task rather than critical and objective investigations for honest presenters of news in public interest.

To test their objectivity, on our part a rebuttal in Hindi and English was tried first. None of these publications though gave space to it. It was not even touched perhaps. It vi

Perceptions and Perspectives was perhaps too inflamable and out of synic to their scheme of things! However, attack became more virulent.

This exposed their intent and the feeling got strengthened that media, with its perceived freedom, is being used as a convenient tool to serve sectarian interests rather than remain honest to public purpose. This media is taking its own views on this issue final as gospel truth in search of modernity of dubious nature while making it convenient for the administration to act in the service of corporate capital. The exercise made it explicit.

This presentation is intended to treat the issue in a bit more detail systematically and pin down the falsehood.

Previously, a booklet on similar lines had appeared in Hindi.

Later it appeared in English. It was not a translation from Hindi version. The present one is the revised 2nd edition.

Hope this exercise will be of use to dispel many cobwebs and clarify issues concerning our rural society.

Though the subject is treated here in Indian context but it remains essentially focussed on the basic question of a natural right with the people to manage their own life and follow their mores without external pressure. It has a universal relevance for all those who are in struggle for an viable alternative to the present exploitative set up.

Please bear repetition with us of some formulations that appear in different contexts to maintain continuity of logic for better clarity. Many friends and adversaries both have contributed in concretising the issues. Gratitude to all of them. Resposibility for inaccuracies if any however remain with the undersigned.

Gian Singh

vii

Khap

Perceptions and Perspectives

1

The Problem

Let us begin with first underlining the nature of the problem in its various dimensions, which this study had to concentrate on quite in urgency.

All of a sudden one fine morning Indian newspapers of standing informed the nation about a murder giving it new brand as ‘honour’ killing of a daughter by an outraged mother of rural origin over choosing her ‘lover’ beyond normal limits of social prohibitions.

The story of murder was not the first of its kind. The striking point was its newly invented adjective given by media and the vehemency in slant given to the description.

Another aspect of this vehemency was also striking when media took it up by one-sided tirade as a matter of regular campaign in zeal hitting the rural way of life itself branding it anti-national and anti-development later.

It soon was clear that the campaign is confined to a particular object to achieve which has nothing to do with any larger social context like community harmony.

My interlocutor that heavy forenoon was aggressive and out to corner rustic and uncouth villagers in their worst form of barbarity in killing innocent youths for the sake of outdated traditions and leaking customs. He vehemently spurned any plea at that moment for dispassionate study, neither was prepared to calm down his passions for a friendly help to provide clippings which he was referring to for a better understanding of his version. In rage, he forgot to be at his place of work that day and asked me too to spare the day in honour of the deceased!

(1)

Khap II Talibani khap was the new enemy with neo-rich middle class. In their hatred of anything of Pakistani origin (even if of American fatherhood) was a heady tool to berate logic and media in its crafty best for good service to its masters used talibani word to kill khap in hatred with. My grudging interlocutor was hyper-active and in later days his ranks of faith swelled and I was left with no choice but to start from basics for a strong foundation of consciousness to fight prejudices and myths, more so because I was faced with these coloured voices from friendly circles.

With the entry of state as an armed authority over society, the problem started taking a different shape. It was no longer an internal agency of society itself to manage its own affairs. Rather, the situation has gone upside down; state is there to manage society itself on behalf of some external interests that go to cut at roots of social life. it seeks to reshape social relations to confirm to a new set.

In its course, the state has reached a stage today as an active armed instrument in the hands of corporate capital.

Its genereal characteristic has gone drastic change. It is not a neutral body to govern for the sake of people as is claimed by its protogonists; it governs over them. Armed with such powers of state corporate forces are labouring to control society tied to its apron to assure compliance.

With active supportof this coercive instrument, the corporate interests are out to opt for drastic change in social and cultural relations to bring the present society in consonance with the capital based industrial-commercial production and distribution relations to speed up its wheel of expropriation made easy. In this context its target is to dissolve family as an institution of social cohesion or convert it into a meningless appendix.

(2)

Perceptions and Perspectives III

In this context, it is important to answer why institution of family is important to stay for society? Before proceeding further to answer, it will be appropriate if first it is underlined what family in fact denotes so that there remains no scope for ambiguity in pursuing the matter further objectively. It need be accepted that present day family is not that family it grew to maintain social cohesion. Capitalist relations have made inroads and turn it seriously sick to a large extent by now, loosing in consequence some of its vibratory features duly forgotten by young inheritors to the sheer disadvantage of rural life. Selfish approach to life is eating its vitals.

Despite the present stage of decay reached, we assert that it is the family as an institution of social cohesion that hold future for us; the institution that our forefathers laboured it to grow. It may help if right here we go into the question of family as a social institution of value as it needs to be in its pristine best in order to underline its importance as a dependable institution of social reorganisation Yes, for the present capital based economic-socialcultural set up the institution of family is incongruous. It is a serious liability and a needless hurdle for furthering its objects of expropriatory journey that grinds common masses well into fine dust and leave a trail of misery for them while a minority reels in luxurious riches. In the interest of masses thus family has to be resurrected for a better furture society of peace and contentment. Alternate models so far experimented to replace family have proved disastrous mainly for the reason that such creations were formal in character while family has come as an informal growth.

The basic question remains: Why then family is important and how to define it, reflecting its essential features leaving least scope for misinterpretation?

(3)

Khap To answer this question, it is imperative to understand here first the intentions of both adversaries and protagonists of family to reach assessment of its relevance for modern day world of bright intentions and its future: (1) The adversaries hail from a definite set of people who stand by an industrial-commercial mode of development-distribution for a nation which they call it modern. This set of people starts by depicting family as a feudal remnant where patriarch rules to the detriment of a fundamental right to individual liberty and state cannot be a silent spectator of this violation. Hence, the institution is irrelevant for modern times and must go away to clear the path of modern day world and development.

The leftists, both socialists and communists, among the adversaries of family argue on the strength of F. Engels in ‘Origin of Family, Private Property and the State’ that since stable property gave birth to the institution of family as its safeguard, for the socialist/communist dispensation this institution is retrogressive in nature and a unnecessary hurdle for onward march of human history.

There is no mind here to challenge what Engels said on the origin of family. Regret is to the intelligence of 21st century communists. They also believe the official data that proclaims that in India 70-80% of the population are bereft of any worthwhile property and nearly 77% survive on rupees 20 per day or less, while all these people do have working families of their own. This tells a tale which these gentlemen want us to forget. In twenty-first century, now is the time when property does not form the basis of a family; it is property that destroys the family instead.

In fact, it is industrial-commercial mode of production which feels threatened by family and socialists/communists too, like followers of status quo, work as minesweepers for the smooth progress of this mode in the fallacious hope that it will usher in socialism/communism. There is no logically (4)

Perceptions and Perspectives any material basis to believe in such fallacy. Soviet experience fully destroys this hope. What industrial-commercial mode of development-distribution contributed has resulted into a badly structured society where man/woman stands alienated and survive in constant tension, wants and wars.

(2) Humanity has to reject industrial-commercial mode outright for a better alternative where man/woman can return to a state of dignity, mutual cooperation, equity, peace and contentment without expropriation and indignity where human (with one’s labour-power) and not the capital/ property is a master key of relationships. The set of people who subscribe to this goal are good protagonists of family as the feasible core unit of society and a viable alternative to the present atomised one. For this alternative, property or muscle power cannot be the basis of a unit, neither the pursuits catering to self or selfish ends.

Family Presently, even while passing through the sponsored spell of capital based mode of industrial-commercial pursuits, for the common masses family is a core unit of at least in Indian society. It is family as its essential unit that has helped to maintain cohesion and bonds to sustain for a meaningful life weathering the onslaught of present day indidividualistic way of life advancing at its cost. We can define its essential features thus: a. where a web of blood relationships governs having a common pursuit in production and consumption in family farming to enjoy commonality of interest in a settled community setting with its distinct culture. b. where unity of purpose scores common way of life c. where common way of thinking and action pervades Family is the anti-dot to alienation all because of its essential and core characteristics that govern it. Given its basic characteristics family is the building block of social life (5)

Khap and not dependent on state structure for its internal functioning and highly sensitive to social/human values. It does not brook any external interference except by choice and is ferociously jealous of its autonomy.

As the next circle to family is the kutumb with common habitat that works as a unit of a settled biradari/community of the same genre with common or without common habitat and a common pursuit where closeness of blood bonds pervade sharing in common grief and joy.

Gotra khap is the practice with particular biradari/ community for common issues on familial/marital issues to hear, discuss and settle on demand with all involved. There is no judgment or adjudication in the process. In practice, Gotra khap also has no original jurisdiction at village level, it is the kutumb and/or close relations that performs this task to help the concerned family at issue.

Khap on the other hand is a system basically geographical in concept and execution with common bhaichara having a common heritage. In the scheme of things, the concept of Bhaichara is the lifeline of rural life and its economy developed in course of social-economic interaction.

It maintains social cohesion and peace, consisting of subsistence agriculture of Family Farming mode, animal husbandry and other allied occupations in rural setting of mutual cooperation and inter-dependence, while Khap is the social tool of families, and community at need to safeguard its ethos, mores and culture like an umbrella.

It is also important to understand that after almost six decades of native rule, both bhaichara and its tool, Khap have come under ferocious attack on fictitious counts, labelling Bhaichara as conservative relic and Khap charged to be Talibani tool of feudal forces2. This provides substance to the feeling that the tirade aims at something bigger and sinister as its objective in sight to hunt as its hidden agenda.

(6)

,

Perceptions and Perspectives This tirade against bhaichara and the Khaps is not for trivial points to score, neither the forces on offensive have a history of social reforms. If looked into its lineage and time selected for hallabole, the crusade clearly is part of a larger game which makes the task of safeguarding core concern of rural life in India more daunting and important than hitherto.

Any decent man of normal prudence as an observer of current affairs may recount that a coterie of powerful forces had emerged here in the early hours after British left, which was keen to usurp national assets. It has a strong streak of Brahmanical3 mind to beat everything for shaping it in its own image of social, cultural and moral identity despite the fact that it is a country of unity in diversity where peasantry, with its own distinct cultural, social and ethical mode, has never been its follower for reasons of its avocation.

In the new circumstances after 1991 particularly, this club of rich with such traits of a wild beast has developed a hunger to go globalised for imperial interests in cooperation with foreign corporate capital. The chain of events ever since that year does testify unmistakeably to such a scenario that has gripped the nation. The attack on rural way of life and its practices have come in this context to give it a specific meaning after consolidation of its own ground.

Apart from turning rural India upside down - socially, culturally, economically and morally into this cesspool of consumerism with alcoholism and care-free individualism of existential pedigree, capturing its vast resources, including agriculture is the coveted agenda now of this globalised corporate capital – both native and foreign. The current campaign of a concerted attack on Khap and bhaichara is not entirely against an extra-constitutional growth emitting foul smell all of a sudden, but is part of the larger plan.

There is another dimension to this campaign. The immediate target of current tirade may be to demolish Khap or at least turn it to a useless position, but the corporate (7)

Khap capital - both Indian and foreign has in fact grown uneasy with the institution of family, its biradari / bhaichara and neighbourhood community for a wider kill and Khap is viewed as its saviour. So, the immediate attack on it.

Corporate capital knows well that rural India survives till the institution of family, Kutumb and its community remain vibrant. For them Khap is the first target currently all because it is a system of support for rural India to pulsate. It is like its umbrella in need; use it when required and place it folded in a corner when climate is normal. If umbrella is gone, the inimical forces will find the real target closer to shoot. Such is the logic of these hunters by profession.

In course of long haul in history, peasants and their other compatriots have evolved this practice to assemble, discuss, hear and decide issues of common interests, later called Khap in northern part of the country. It became its supportive mechanism for collective way of life and thought.

It is now anathema to these forces who, happen to dominate the scene with power in hand. Reasons are stark and harsh.

IV The zeal of jihad like crusade presently against rural way of life is unprecedented and resembles more like a campaign that is bound to bite hard. The arguments advanced in support of this campaign are well formulated and sharp that need forthright rebuttal, lest it be taken as a victory uncontested on behalf of the people.

Now, going through the charge-sheet from these jehadis against rural India in general and its Khap practice in particular, one strong feeling has emerged: what Macaulay intended to achieve out of his proposals on colonial aim of education policy for the British regime, more so in the aftermath of 1857, the mindset of the urbanite highbrow in India even after six decades of transfer of power to native hands remains deeply embedded for neo-colonial pursuits; (8)

Perceptions and Perspectives highly ingrained as it is with aspirations and cultural mores, patterned on the western way of thought and its economic structures for brutal expropriation of others for self. It is very zealous to pursue it whatever be the cost to victim(s).

Finding our rulers too of the same pedigree, we may feel pained over this signal achievement of Mr. Macaulay, but are least surprised. British colonialists were meticulous in planning and execution, we know. Despite native rule, colonial pattern is pervading all over in thought and action to the cruel disadvantage of majority that reels under its rule.

Commanding high degree of resources, the media first served its master well in conditioning society by projecting female sex as central to human thought and action on Freudian teachings without any mind to social reality and is now bent upon projecting a contrived ‘right of choice’ as the final bliss, taking for granted that sex is an object of entertainment in human society and make quite a normal right for the rich what ever be the cost to dignity of women.

In its zeal to upheld this freedom of choice for deviant youngsters to indulge in unfettered sexual misconduct brashly and with almost no-bar of any legal or social kind, has raised issues that have a bearing larger than what it concedes in the battle of one-sided debate on such matters at core that are very personal in nature.

Clearly, this campaign does not allow rural India its right to live its own life, in its own way; even if democratic norms go to pieces. It will be an interesting exercise to know the reason why such a brazen venture is undertaken by this elite club at this juncture of India’s march to power. It seems keen to alienate this 77% portion of the population, with dire poverty looming large due to high level of deprivation during these years of independent existence with no regret.

Rural India clearly is under siege. It does not require extraordinary intelligence to understand it.

(9)

Khap The target of this campaign is to demolish the institution of family of Indian characteristics, thereby turning an individual disarmed, helpless and totally dependent on a state structure that is coercive and formal by nature so that there remains no possibility of challenge to its authority from any corner. The list of so-called human rights advanced by a nation state as well as international bodies like UNO or Commissions are advanced to keep such hapless individuals continuously assured of good intentions of this coercive instrument- the state in the hands of corporate capital.

V Khap comes in for attack now only because it is essential to demolish this defence mechanism first by demonising and ban it if possible for making the family worthless.

Almost a Talibani zeal is evident in putting parents as violators of human rights if they happen to advice siblings on such make-belief freedoms and check depraved elements in society that go rogue on sexual misconduct; notably at a time when formal institutions of state have lost steam shedding confidence of the people and almost gone bust to maintain social equilibrium. State is not now the instrument of justice, neither neutral body to govern. It is only its coercive power that is keeping it float amidst chaos when it has aligned completely with corporate capital to serve.

In its zeal to hit, this campaign is virulent in temper, but totally unmindful of bare facts in the case, even while the difference between khap and Gotra/community Khap is easily ignored to have an easy prey. It is difficult to digest that know-all intelligentsia engaged in this tirade is unaware of the difference so vital in debate on the subject.

Another notable feature of this campaign is the attitude of our entire political establishment. This sweating exercise has been lapped up dutifully by the leadership at all levels that matters for political, administrative, judicial and legal (10)

Perceptions and Perspectives measures against the ‘errant’ Khap system in their zeal for modernity they are keen to thrust upon unsuspecting people.

The campaign is well designed and orchestrated on command. Home Minister and the Law Minister of the country chipping in at appropriate moments to declare khap unconstitutional was a spectacle never seen before as if everything else is constitutional on earth and merely their announcement can make or mar anything legal and legitimate. They presume to be masters of social life as well.

One could see the strange or not so strange coincidence: Law Commission on its part submits a report damning the Khaps on honour killings at bidding of the Home Minister suggesting a frame of law dutifully to curb this practice, while simultaneously an NGO, claiming to work in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs, approaches Supreme Court with a PIL seeking directions to implement Law Commission report and mobilises political class accordingly. While this process is under way to mature, a grave incident of rape is taken up by the media and J S Verma Committee constituted to suggest changes in criminal law.

Mercifully the Committee was on a mission. It decides to focus on two accounts: to damn political/executive class for its leisurely ways in governance and providing a forum to civil (educated!) society to come up for suggestions. Verma Committee submits a report of nearly 600 pages in record time of one month caring less of its duty to investigate facts and damns Khaps on honour killings; of course without hearing their representatives, denying a natural right to the wronged and with no regret to his last days.

Soon it also became clear that the self-styled leadership of Khaps presently in command lacks understanding of very intent of the adversary. In many cases it was also apparent that many among such upstarts were not fully aware about the true nature of Khap system itself as it had emerged (11)

Khap historically, its essential characteristics and how it works on the ground keeping its vital aspects intact. This provided ample ammunition to its detractors.

Essential elements under attack One impression has gained ground though and not without reason that the media in service to its masters has turned pathetically partisan as never before in coverage and presentation of incidents, giving extra-ordinary prominence to untested facts and intemperate tenor to generate hatred against one whole community in particular, during the current tirade against Khap, forgetting conveniently its own code of conduct that bars airing views which fan caste feelings. Such partisan character of mainline media has come out in sharp contrast this time with no sense of shame.

This media has painted the system of Khap in deep colours of choice by using derogatory words like feudal, Talibani, Kangaroo Courts and the like, inviting equally strong reactions among adherents of this customary practice in rural belt. Media is justifying each and every case of family defiance by youngsters as a new standard for social conduct, inviting in bargain a serious accusation that it is encouraging and abetting anti-social behaviour for some ulterior motives.

The media carried ill-informed reports and expressed views that were biased and hostile. Most of the time in zeal, it is completely carried over by one track arguments of its own against the institutions of family, community and Khaps, denting its credibility to a new low.

The activist role of media as preacher, on behalf of urbanite arrogance towards rural ‘uncouth’ is sharp with no mind for to its own principles. This campaign has left unattached readers gasping, when they wish media to remain impartial courier of news, while enjoying freedom on its behalf. But it forgot all sense of proportion for pushing vested interest, with no bar perhaps to follow!

(12)

Perceptions and Perspectives However, by using such terms as above in denouncing the age-old rural practice of self-management as Khap on issues of marriage and dispute resolution left nothing ambiguous. It also was clear that almost all political parties from right to the left and centrists were equally one in denouncing rural way of life on this account virtually pleading for an atomised society in bargain that so brilliantly suites a thoroughly exploitative regime in place of a communitarian mode. How it will cut at the roots of social life, it was not its concern.

VI Of late, more specifically since 1991, there are again concerted efforts bulldozing the country of accepted diversity in creed, traditions and customs for forging it into a nation of conformity according to the political concept of Hindutva of Brahmanical order. For example: whenever there is resistance from scheduled areas against encroachment on their lands and resources, shrill voices start clamouring for bringing those (Adivasies) to the mainstream by introducing reforms of choice or converting them to rituals of Sanatan Dharma and forcibly industrialise their areas.

Constitution of India assured tribal communities and minorities to respect their identities of culture, creeds and faiths, mode of life and safeguarding their resources. Specific provisions were made forbidding purchase of land by unscrupulous outsiders. Article 19(1)(e) provides a right to citizens to reside and settle in any part of India while a bit ahead Article 19(5) specifies that nothing in sub-clause (e) shall prevent the state from making any law imposing reasonable restrictions on exercise of any right conferred by the said sub-clause either in the interests of the general public or the protection of the interests of any scheduled tribe.

To advance the cause of uniformity reference is made to Article 19(1)(e) but article 19(5) is allowed to sleep conveniently and the tribal areas are made to crawl.

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Khap At present, Article 19(1)(a) and 21 are much in use to tell youths, especially the girls to enjoy freedom of choice, wear what and how they like, while very conveniently Article 19(2) is kept dormant that tells them to enjoy this right subject to ‘decency or morality, defamation, or incitement of an offence’. This is how this nation is being governed as per rule of law by choice and talking with tongue in cheek according to their need of the hour!

Take another example: while intending to push youths away from their families and denounce parental care, reference is made currently to a provision of Article 16 under Universal declaration of Human Rights which states the following: (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

But by convenient choice following provision of the same article is withheld from them: (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and State.

The subtle message of this present campaign is Brahmanical conformity on mores and culture. They want to deny the right of diversity to the peasant communities. When the Law Commission in its report on honour killings suggested for counselling these communities through elected representative ‘to explain that sagotra marriages are not opposed to law, religion, sadachar or medical science’ intention is clear how efforts are afoot to turn Indian society to conformity with this Brahmanical order by law.

Let us recollect that in the early phase of independence, these elements in power were very keen to forge this type of conformity. It is no coincidence that many laws were enacted in tearing hurry on marriage affairs inserting practises for pan India application with little mind for diverse mores (14)

Perceptions and Perspectives prevalent in the country and so early after the new Constitution came into effect; some even before it.

Speaking in the Provisional Parliament on Hindu Code Bill one member from Haryana region complained about ‘the imposition of this Hindu Code Bill from the backdoor upon those people in this country who were free from it till now, as an act of abuse of power.’ ‘Name any person from Punjab may be a Hindu or a Sikh or a Muslim who has raised his voice that their customary law should be abolished and in place they should have the law of Manu or Yajnavalkya or of anybody else ...it should apply to those only who wanted to be governed by it’ ‘Even in such time when such Brahmanical rule ...were being enforced rigidly the Jats did not yield to the Brahmanical rules and it has not done so even now. We have never been governed by the Hindu Code and I doubt that you can govern by the backdoor policy those whom you could not enslave mentally.” ( CA Proceedings, 22 Sept. 1951, p. 3142-3150) Thereafter, one of such law came as the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 that opens gate for sagotra marriage. It remained dormant since and did not force sagotra marriages in peasant communities till recently. In the row over honour killings when some Khaps proposed amendments to this law of conformity these very elements went wild on the issue. It stems from the same object of integration by outlawing diversity, while media dutifully rammed Khaps on the question.

There is a strong sense of smugness that pervades media and the corporate world over its kill by swaying public opinion on issues of its choice colouring the faculty for judgement, while political leaders, executives and even judicial officials happily start referring to this type of contrived opinion for taking decisions of importance. A strange case of governance by manipulation!

It should not be forgotten that India is a country of (15)

Khap diversity and its unity resides in this peaceful co-existence of modes with due respect to such diversity. It is forgotten conveniently in this campaign that the issues at stake affect the mores of a population that still constitutes nearly 70 percent of its part and none have the right whatsoever to thrust the opinion of a hopeless minority on a deprived majority without their consent in a democratic set up of their own make, by utilising sheer power of money and state.

Currently, an undeclared war like situation within the confines of families in rural India is raging for almost two decades where conflicting interests of culture are in contest – one on behalf of corporate capital and the other that feels a danger in alien mode and want the institution of family, kutumb, biradari and community to survive.

The forces of alien mode have taken decades of preparation subtle in form normally and brash when it is needed for this war on culture to win. Problem however is that this is done in the name of freedom of speech - a right of the people where people are absent!

The ongoing strife is affecting the normal life of villages and disrupting their rhythm. The open defiance of parental supervision by mostly indoctrinated young boys and girls, conditioned by Freudian concept through Macaulay script of education, on matters so close to the family code of conduct as ‘sex, love and marriage’ having deep bearing on its social standing and obligation to community behaviour has put it on turmoil, resulting in many violent incidents that have put social harmony at stake.

Nonetheless, the real abettors of incidents accuse the victims for ‘murders for honour’ to cunningly shift the blame that is atrocious and amusing too. Media on its part, regularly sensationalise such crimes as honour killing by Khap on hearsay without verification and investigation and editorially takes a position to continuously ham rural India.

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Perceptions and Perspectives Whenever and wherever the project to extinguish Khap materialises as per design, the family will stand to loose its support mechanism and remain dependent at the sole mercy of a thoroughly corrupt formal structure under the state patronage. This will lead to break up of social institutions into atomised individuals – a sure way undoubtedly for industrial culture to flourish and urbanise India with no one to regret for the vanquished! A sure tragedy of sorts. India is in virtual turmoil. And, literally. Efforts are on to turn it upside down in the interest of few.

There is nothing wrong in change if the future is reassuring though. However, trappings are foreboding. And it disturbs the conscience. The Supreme Court on lesbian relationship and the then central Home Minister on Khap recently pose the problem in sharp contrast as to its objective that is intended to fulfil. It surprised many what made the Supreme Court to interpret law that sanctifies lesbian and free sex with a legal system that professes otherwise.

When nearly sixty years after the country is free from British slavery, the Supreme Court of India found it necessary to interpret law on homosexuality and live-in relationship afresh as a basic right of citizens to act anarchist and when the then Home Minister P. Chidambaram simultaneously chooses to declare Khap as obnoxious as terrorism, objective of both may not be as un-related and as innocent as it looks in first instance. Both hit at roots of the family as an institution, relying on the strength of individualism of existential variety.

A word of caution seems necessary for those who take pleasure in western thought and practice: pleading for depravity and support to wayward behaviour among youngsters in the name of sexual freedom is no better than a crime against humanity even in existential dispensation, what to talk of Indian ethos. Every settled society, barring societies of immigrants, have ever cherished, and for good (17)

Khap reason, a rational conduct for social harmony. To work for otherwise is a social crime that may help few to get richer but society poorer by legions that no healthy nation can afford to bear for long. It is not for intellectuals as a class to be carrier of such nefarious game and help make the nation crippled by providing a bankrupt philosophy to base upon.

After Independence, at least during its first phase of nationalist fervour, the opinion prevailed not to tinker with social customs and traditions with various social groups to the extent of autonomy that was acceded to scheduled areas under Fifth and Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, though only in theory. Still it is not repudiated; rather it has been strengthened under a new law, namely PESA, 1996 of a constitutional frame. This law recognises the competence of people at the level of Gram Sabha to conduct its affairs according to traditions and customs. The provision was found acceptable for extension to even general areas in MP. If this is true for scheduled areas what is hell there if it is recognised for all?

Khap is the embodiment of participative democracy.

Representative democracy, as its replacement to serve minority rule, has become quite intolerant of democracy of the people, by the people and for the people. Let the wise men of the western mode think afresh about Indian characteristics and then evaluate things de nova to take the society ahead from the present moss.

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Perceptions and Perspectives

2

The Strange World of Myths India lives in its villages where still 70% of the country’s

population resides for subsistence and a compatible culture based on affinity. The rest are urban centred who by now dominate the national scene. At the dawn of freedom the country had a choice to go agrarian or industrialised. The new elites opted in deceit for industrial-commercial mode for its future. Rural India lost the race. Once it was bubbling with creative energy and grit to live with nature. But it stands now at the edge of a precipice after half a century of lost hope without knowing the contours of a rising tide against it since independence. The adverse forces are on offence for a final battle to conquer. The reason basically is economic behind the operation and the timing chosen with care.

The story begins at the start of our new journey in 1947.

India had little to rely upon when it took initial steps for regeneration; self reliance was the option left. It had to import food grains under PL 480 from America initially to feed its population and embarked to refurbish agriculture in the First Five Year Plan. Second World War had left the countries in all continents gasping. Britain had lost the energy to keep its empire. America planned to replace Britain to lead the imperialist world but had to face its rival in Soviet Union which was pushing a different dream, while India choose to remain non-aligned with any of these rivals in the circumstances to take advantage from both, though it had opted for individualism at its philosophy in the Constitution.

America rightly sensed the situation and felt the danger for future if India developed its potentiality in agriculture; (19)

Khap advised it to concentrate first on industrialisation instead, laying the trap for it. Indian leadership fell to the bait.

It was a decisive shift too soon. America punished it for its non-alignment but kept her for itself in future if industrialisation continues. Industrial spree will bind India to the world of capital and constant loans for which America will ultimately be the master in the game. Scheme worked to the plan and America had the last laugh.

Over six decades of its journey and the future projection make the story for India depressing and virtually painful. Rural India stands robbed of its resources and culture. Its future is in jeopardy and makes a distressing reading. Industrial spree for development in the country had assured capitalisation which produced a strong class of money bags who are harbingers of urban culture and a ticket of death for the village life. Currently an assault on rural economy and the Khap is in full steam as part of the game.

Country side is facing virtually a barrage of accusations and ground is being prepared for the final kick. It is interesting to read the list of charges against rural folks in the tirade and the grounds these are based upon. There is a chain of myths that are craftily built around to make the accusations look reasonable and sound.

Myths Galore The power of myths is stupendous if made to appear as truth, especially when used by the powerful against the deprived sections of society repeatedly. One well known thinker of past summed it by saying: ‘The first principle of rulers,’ observed David Hume ‘is ultimately to rely on controlling the thoughts.... this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments as well as to the most free and most popular.’

The blue-eyed boy once of the educated class, Mr. (20)

Perceptions and Perspectives Churchill, had expounded that ‘the truth is so precious it must be protected by a body of lies, damn lies’. Similarly, ‘engendering fear and hatred is a standard method of controlling the population’ as aptly described to the advantage of rule over the disadvantage of the ruled, in history world over. This is exactly what Indian rulers are doing with rural people.

It is recognised that myths alone allow hidden agendas of the minority to translate without fuss, since state is never neutral nor an instrument of even and just development.

Has never been so in history, despite some good individuals.

Not even in Soviet era. India is no exception.

As usual with all manipulators and those who live by dishonest means, the campaign against rural way of life too, including the functioning of Khap practice is based upon certain well cultivated myths to make it palatable for the gullible. Rulers of all hues in history are known to have survived by this intelligent strategy more than by direct armtwisting. After closely watching the recent tirade on Khap on incidents of honour killings, it became evident that a set of myths form the basis of this propaganda blitz to hoodwink the public consciousness. These need to be patiently analysed For the present, one can look at the set of myths floated around in context of war that the political establishment has waged against rural way of life and its Khap practice.

The first myth created deliberately is that this world is dominated by man (called patriarchy) and that woman is slave to man in the web of relationships and marriage is hell with controlled sex; she is a human being more than a woman and she is not destined to procreate. that she has the freedom of choice in selecting her partner in sex. Her sexuality is her asset, she is sole arbiter of her body and social pressure of any type on her freedom is not acceptable, they say.

In human history the Capital and Sex as entertainment are two most mischievous creations of those men who love (21)

Khap to live by sin and make the society sick of this incurable disease to exploit others on armed strength.

As a corollary, the female sex particularly is made a source of huge income through cultivating sex-based industries including pornography and indiscriminate promiscuity with no mind of its cost to social stability and peace. Slogans from feminist enthusiasts like freedom from ‘controlled sexuality’, ‘woman is master of her body’, ‘freedom of choice’ are coined. To make the fight easy against patriarchy is resurrected from past history as a handy tool.

The other most devastating premise of this feminist philosophy so created to demolish family was devised telling women to be “free from dependence syndrome” in relation to her family and made a litmus test of her liberation from despised ‘patriarchy’, no matter what wage slavery does in course to her body and mind.

To save their tottering system, by launching its campaign for Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation’ phase of its onward march the ruling elites turned the capital /property as masterkey to all relations replacing human beings and simultaneously through media raised its pitch to remove the taboo of social code of conduct by fighting the concept of bhaichara in society to make it sick by promoting sex entertainment unchecked so that their profits rise high.

Result: rising graph of sex crime even among urchins at tender age, degrading the whole social fabric for the sake of selfish ends of a class that live in sin and expropriation.

The Second cultivated myth views rural India as a cesspool of caste prejudices, conservatism, ignorance, feudal arrogance and pathetic love for poverty.

Third myth takes Khap as an organisation and an anachronism to Constitution of India, defiling rule of Law, though it sanctifies right of association. Anything associated with Khap is feudal, evil and not worth appreciation.

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Perceptions and Perspectives Fourth myth about Khap says that it is caste organisation of Jats and limited to Jat heartland of Haryana, Punjab, West UP, Rajasthan states of North India. The myth takes agriculture, ipso facto, feudal and Jats as conservatives.

Fifth important premise says that Khap/ Gotra Khap is a relic of the good old past of feudal vintage and has no relevance in modern day world. It is regressive and an unnecessary hurdle to development and progress.

It is made out that modern state is virtuous and symbol of justice worthy of unquestioned respect with no reservation from any since it derives authority from people themselves to rule, underlined by law and due process. It is held that society cannot do without following leadership endowed with authority to guide and direct.

It is also made out that everything coming from officials and courts is superior in wisdom and just while traditional and customary institutions are rubbish. What state decides is democratic and what elders do is arbitrary, they hold.

They allege that Khap is an institution of rural rich to dominate over weaker sections, having no place for women and Harijans/down-trodden in its scheme and that it is thoroughly undemocratic and autocratic, having no relevance today, that it survives on ‘killings’ of lovelorn couples, having false sense of honour in a fast moving world with norms of sexual freedom.

Next built up myth is that modernity is synonymous to industrial culture and that it is a sure path of plenty with FDI as a sure lever to bliss. Industry is presented as an unquestionable future of humanity and that everything that goes contrary to this goal is worth demolishing. It is also presumed that the State establishment has a mandate to push society to prosperity and hence it is within its right to remove hurdles in its path of modernity, even under coercion.

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Khap It is also claimed that Western education and its products are epitome of superior wisdom and virtue with universal application beyond reproach. The bold culture of flaunting sexuality with semi-nude or nude postures to attract eye-balls as a liberating force is taken as higher form of culture, while rural India is supposed to be deep in moral morass where women decay because they do not bare.

Again, it is claimed that rural folks are an uncouth lot, who flex their muscle power over reason with an in-built mode of caste prejudice whereas the urbanites are symbols of equity, justice, living in virtue and surviving on honest labour! And watch! When the then Prime Minister and now its new icon of corporate capital in Mr. Modi of BJP set a date for converting rural India into a flourishing urban paradise, the presumption turns truth beyond doubting question. The media immediately is hilarious about the target with 100 super cities for the rich. No questions are raised as to its financial and social cost, especially to rural India.

The world of myths is a strange world. It survives on faith and blind faith so created on false logic where irrationality rules supreme with an air of sublime superiority and selfsame righteousness.

When the time was ripe for the elite to strike, myths so assiduously built from day one of the plan were resurrected from the stables to assert with force. This is the spectacle curiously presented with vehemence now about rural India and its practice like Khap. Myths are myths and these may need not work according to the script. That is its flimsy side.

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Perceptions and Perspectives

3

The Adversary Note

I

t is a curious world of charges based on such built up myths that rural people are facing. The disdain against these ‘rustics’ is infectious and vituperative. In fact, the Khap system is maligned without opportunity to explain and rebut.

Despite superior mass support, communities that practise Khap stand disarmed. The balance is heavily tilted at present with help from rulers in favour of the pampered minority.

Let us see the catalogue of lies: • It is alleged that rural India is a drag on the fast moving economy in the country and that it enjoys disproportionate weight due to its numbers and not for its economic strength; numbers give undue electoral advantage.

• It is alleged that Khap as a caste organisation enjoys disproportionate mass support and for reasons of vote bank politics commands undue backing from the political establishment and has no merit.

• Being a Jat institution confined to north India, Khap is a political instrument of feudal rich to lord over lower castes for keeping its power structure intact.

• Another allegation says Khap to be conservative whereas world has moved on to embrace liberation on matters sexuality and freedom of choice, that rural India is too slow to change and a drag on onward march of history.

And if the country is made to miss the present golden opportunity by opening to West, train will move on, without India riding the wagon. This will entail a heavy toll in trail with no option of survival in this world of competition.

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Khap • First Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is projected as sine quo non for development and then country is asked to change to suit the tastes of rich foreigners.

• The rural sector of economy is sluggish enough and it needs overhauling from A to Z. • Khaps violate human rights of the individual, more so of woman to live her own life.

It is also made out that: (i) Khap Panchayat functions illegally when there are official Gram Panchayats functioning legally. They are parallel bodies to these and have no business to exist. (ii) Khap Panchayat is invariably conservative, casteist, exclusive, communal and feudal-patriarchal in character and behaviour to the disadvantage of progress. (iii) Being a Jat institution, Khap system is confined to Rajasthan, few districts of Haryana, Delhi Dehat, Punjab and U.P and hence carries no big risk to manage legally. (iv) Khap system has no history; it is a tell-tale of makebelief; but now resurrected by Jats for domination over other castes, more so women and scheduled castes. (v) Khaps are arbitrary in operation and anachronism on the body polity of a fast moving India with high potentiality in growth. (vi) Khap Panchayat is anti-national and a pack of brutes having murderous propensity as a past-time. Conceding though lately in the day, elites club have accepted that the raison d’ etre (reason for the existence of a thing or concept) of Khap in rural India is the outdated concept of Bhaichara (brotherhood) which has no place in modern times.

This is what rural India is faced to.

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Perceptions and Perspectives

4

Rural India: A Different Landscape

Rural India is different from the Urban India despite the fact that a good portion of its population now forms part of urban slums for reasons of livelihood. Village life is basically opposite to city life for reasons of its nature and cuture with distinct characteristics that contribute to its style and mores. Rural economy and its mode of existence go against what is available in city life. Despite inroads made by capital-centred industrial-cum-commercial mode in rural sector by now, it has its distinct entity worth preservation for a new India of hope. Proper appreciation of these characteristics however, has been made a difficult task now; rural India stands so strongly prejudiced through a system of myths and lies deliberately built and craftily cultivated.

In the circumstances, before the charge-sheet against rural India in general and Khap in particular is examined of its worth, it is important to recount in short what in fact rural landscape presently is all about and how myths have created a wall against it for the besiege to succeed. It needs patience to ponder over what is in store. This will be a reasonable way open to us for the study, if myths are taken up for scrutiny first and see the charges these are worth.

What Rural India stands for First, let it be reiterated what rural categories essentially mean, otherwise these myths might cloud the vision time and again leading to a blind alley in return. It will help to defeat the mischief inherent in the game of deceit and deception built assiduously.

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Khap Basically village has been and still is to a large extent the abode of honest labour with a strong sense of affinity, working through bhaichara wherein principle of equality predominates, despite inroads of alien features it is lately infected due to a process assiduously released here since the new Constitution became operational in the year 1950.

These characteristics of rural economy are not due to some inherent goodness of a ruralite, but because of its principal avocation of a settled life. Subsistence agriculture cannot do without these. Its active social life contains features that go to make the mode of existence special as its way to live.

Mutual dependence, cooperation and sense of sharing trials and tribulations of daily shores here make agriculture, animal husbandry and other allied occupations reasonably workable to sustain in a difficult terrain and hostile system around with uncertain climate to bear. It is different from those professions of easy gain in urban and semi-urban centres of money which flourish on expropriation, manipulations, cheating, black-marketing/hoarding and adultery, where money begets money and cooperation/ dependence go by selfish ends to garner maximum profit in a cut-throat market. So is its culture.

The basic unit of a village life is the family as an organic whole with common economic interests, pursuits and resources to share collectively, consisting of individuals as its essential limbs in blood relationship with a sense of relative equity, collective way of life and aspirations.

Likewise, family is simultaneously the basic unit also of a community with common interest and culture residing in a particular habitat at a time and beyond with oneness of bhaichara. The Kutumb is a next circle of family in blood relationship within the biradari (with no english version).

Community/biradari in a rural setting is lineal neighbourhood, with common culture, traditions and customs belonging to a particular Gotra within a caste / clan that had (28)

Perceptions and Perspectives developed in history as an institution of a social category on the strength of characteristics gained habitually through professional pursuits, residing in a village and beyond. The running thread within a neighbourhood Bhaichara that keeps it within one unit is its cultural and social affinity. Beyond it there runs the boundary of another entity of cultural affinity, though somewhere there is a link to keep it larger in context, with several threads to unite the chain. It has units but united intrinsically enjoying the culture of a settled life.

Family, Kutumb and its immediate neighbourhood community with settled habitation i.e. village and the Khap with constituent Tapas and without the burden of leadership and authority on shoulders, for self-governance of its own affairs, mediate or hear appeals are the basic ingredients one within the other in as-centric circles having supplementary roles to discharge that go to make the Indian society, bereft of hierarchy, developed so simply because the principle of equality rules its life to guard it ferociously.

Universally, it is with the people to combine, discuss, mediate and resolve their problems of family and community life. The practice was prior to emergence of formal institution of State and is primary as a natural right. It cannot be superseded by a formal structure, except through brute force.

Later, this practice came to be known as Khap in northern zone of the country.

Nowhere people like it that State institutions interfere in their lives beyond a point. Autonomy in family and community life has been a cherished value people have safeguarded in Indian history all through and those who dared to transgress this unwritten law had to face their wrath. The continuity of revolts against British rule here were fired by this fierce sense of autonomy as one of the primary factors, which historians have ignored to look at for good reasons in the service of elites. The state earlier had developed here with such restrictions and never endowed (29)

Khap with absolute authority getting 1/6 of the produce for its expenses like other services, while Western history saw state authority as divinely ordained and absolute as colonial India had to experience in defining difference between the two.

It is beyond Indian ethos to take authority of state in absolute terms. To assemble and interact between themselves is a natural right with the people all over, requiring no recognition from anyone ever except themselves. This autonomy is sacred and Khap symbolises this truth. It is unjust to force an alien concept of state authority on the unwilling masses in rural India particularly. The colonial vestige must go for good reasons.

Corporate India, relying on the support of pliant State and a middle class of constantly fluctuating philosophy of life, is not prepared however to concede this right to this section of people lest their economic interests suffer. The Indian State on its part is now keen to the level of desperation to intrude and invade the hearth and homes, including the private lives of the people more than British did. This conflict of interests between the ethos of autonomy with rural India and the desire on part of the state to intrude in the life of citizens is a fresh reason of present day turmoil.

State is ever keen to preside over even the relations between parents and their siblings. It loves to keep the colonial traditions of state intact to serve the corporate world, while denying a natural right to citizens on the spacious plea of safeguarding freedom of individual from family attachments, though once freedom of individual was deemed against the state. Historically speaking, the state has usurped this right without any tangible mandate from its citizens.

This situation is a net result of not challenging the principle of eminent domain which British rulers here had propounded first to consolidate their hold on economic loot and later Indian Constitution adopted it, despite opposition, (30)

Perceptions and Perspectives for pursuing a beaten path of grabbing natural resources in the name of development. This played havoc with the life of Indian people and must be repudiated if country is to move forward with confidence. It is the biggest hurdle in tapping potential of the country to new heights, while Khap is charged instead to be anti-development falsely.

Rural life with Khap practice is non hierarchical in concept.

Collective way of thinking and collective style in function, having no concept of authority or leadership, except conventions and traditions to guide its work are its hallmark. Khap functions at several nodes like waves in a pond keeping the community and village as its epicentre; having inner and outer frames in order, with no concept of small or big, powerful and weak, rich or poor. One’s weight in social standing is earned by experience in handling common issues in line with the basic principles of honesty, relative neutrality and forthrightness, where right of a resident to participate and express freely, fearlessly cannot be extinguished by anyone. One can go out on choice, but retains the right to return as a normal part.

The family is not a collection of individuals for convenience. It is something more than that. Members in the family are not by choice, but by birth or relationship with common inseparable interests. A free individual stands for self, separate from the collective; the famil symbolises collectivity. When individual starts harbouring individual rights and interests within the confines of a family, it no longer remains a family. Individuals in a family are within the ambit of a joint family interest as its core; it is an organic whole to survive in ambience with community and its habitation having similarity of interests.

Similarly, village is not a mere collection of its units. It is an organic entity with certain collective interests of higher level and having characteristics in affinity to survive by collective wisdom, within a common geographic entity while, Gauhand is the immediate neighbourhood of village (31)

Khap affinity and communality in action born of common avocation in agriculture. This chain of Gauhand or neighbourhood affinity moves to make it a wider circle of cultural oneness for mutual benefit.

Cardinals of rural society To summarise, the rural life may not be ideal today but still five essential and basic characteristics of its own lace it to make it work and pull to new horizons on way to progress infinite. One is functional Bhaichara laced with a strong sense of equality. Second, strong sense of oneness, cohesiveness or Samuhik way of existence. Third, cooperation or Sehbhagita.

Fourth, tolerance (sahensheelta) or accommodation and fifth, openness or transparency in dealings. With any one of these essentials missing, village life looses substance to its detriment. The whole formation of village life revolves around on these basics in the web of relationships.

Bhaichara is central to rural life Yes, raison d’ etre, the very basis of rural life is Bhaichara (Brotherhood). It is the very strength of its life. Bhaichara is a creation of its socio-economic life and is bound to remain relevant till the traditional Kisani persists. It did surprise many why Bhaichara became such a red rag all of a sudden with the current jihad against Khap. There is a reason for the corporate world to be uneasy with the concept of bhaichara with village life. It is a big roadblock to its present ambition of demolishing family farming to give way for corporate farming and subduing rural sector in accordance with its intent to go for the kill as propounded by Government of India through its New Agriculture Policy floated in the year 2000 on spurious pleas and contrived concepts.

Finding bhaichara as antithetic to individualism, the protagonists of market economy are annoyed too that this concept still goes on to regulate village life; perhaps finding this as an insurmountable hurdle in exercising freedom of (32)

Perceptions and Perspectives choice in matters of sexual extravaganza and more. As the masters of state have a declared agenda to dispense with traditional agriculture to make way for corporate agriculture in India ostensibly to feed teeming millions, while relying on imports as a matter of policy bound to division of labour as an essential component under WTO bhaichara must be banished. (See: New Agriculture Policy-2000) On the other side, Bhaichara or family like relationship of mutual trust and confidence is a mere not sentimentality with the villagers; it is born out of definite working conditions in hearth and fields. Agriculture economy of rural India, including animal husbandry, will collapse the day this concept of ‘Bhaichara’ vanishes, especially in those parts of rural India where women are an indispensable component of family labour in agriculture.

This is the reason why neighbouring village (Gauhand) is essentially a part of ‘Bhaichara’ where respective boundaries merge for odd hours of day and night labour in agriculture operations. If the concept of ‘Brotherhood’ is gone, female labour specially will be vulnerable and cannot venture freely in the fields – alone and at odd hours. The working conditions here demand the type of relationship Bhaichara represents. The corporate media either does not understand this dynamics of subsistence agriculture or purposely wants to demolish it for ulterior reasons of corporate benefit of its easy take over by denouncing this concept of bhaichara as superstition rooted in its past. But none of the two reasons is honourable.

Bhaichara gives substance to one of the five basic characteristics of rural existence in sharing the joys and pangs, collectively in the process of its productive life style.

Cohesive life style is one cardinal norm of rural India and Khap maintains and safeguards this Bhaichara, which essentially provides substance to this collective way of thinking and collective way of functioning in rural ambience.

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Khap Secondly, country side without its Khap system of collective wisdom and cooperative spirit will be a situation of wilderness without its support system for a man/woman in need. If one does not want to disarm rural society completely, Khap system is indispensible for any sensible person to support and support strongly. That is the reason why there is so much angry reaction from rural India when Khap is made the target of attack by elites; they feel and rightly that rural population is being forcefully disarmed to wild forces of greed and disharmony.

Individualism is a curse The significant difference between two contending cultures associated with agriculture along with its allied occupations on the one hand and the industrial-commercial complex on the other side lies between collective way of life and individualism respectively. Individualism is the lifeline of production and distribution mode which has essentially the individual as it labour-unit with selfish ends in front, while agriculture mode rests on family-labour as its unit of collective production and consumption in focus. This lays the philosophical base of both and underlines respective values of life and thought to essentially shape mode of existence for each. Admixture of both will produce cocktail in sin largely due to the vicious nature of money.

Individualism since necessarily breeds clash of interests at the cost of cohesion in social relations, it is as philosophy a curse for rural way of life and cannot but remain harmful to its social mores and values. It is bound to break the family and community relations to the advantage of capital-centred mode of existence and to the detriment of subsistence agriculture based on collective labour of family. It is its law.

Unfortunately, the insidious influence of individualism has made serious inroads in rural sector and is being injected assiduously of late by an invading culture sponsored by industrial-commercial combine to win. It is a war of attrition (34)

Perceptions and Perspectives between the two, which has sharpened during last two decades of LPG era unleashed by the capitalist class after it had gained sufficient strength due to its earlier planned efforts of economic developement since 1947.

One thing needs to be emphasised that any and every individual is valuable for the society to thrive. Sense of equity needs to pervade social pursuits without any sort of discrimination for a just society. With collective way as its lifeline, society/community/family does not, and cannot, exclude interest of individual to flower; rather it provides better environment/ambience for one’s growth. Human – female as well as male can remain one only in a social context.

Individuals are there in the families but no individual interests other than collective family interests to work for.

However, individualism is a different category altogether alien to its way of life which dissolves the family first into micro families and later essentially into crass individuals of heterogeneous interests working at cross purposes.

Let us remember one lesson of history: Individualism as a philosophy and practice is a curse to social progress and social harmony as such. It is the product of industrial ‘revolution’ that has harmed social march to peace and harmony while wealth it created through competitive interest went to benefit few and misery to over-whelming majority. Zeal is not the characteristic of individualism to excel; it has a different lineage. The unexceptional zeal in Second World War shown by Russians against Hitler’s aggression had a different source than individual gain to accrue. They worked for collective interests, and not under duress, which is impossible to sustain in war conditions. The theory of competitive market to excel needs to be revisited for its antisocial content and thrust.

The camaraderie of family and settled village life instead is duly infectious and magnetic in effect. The past and present provide ample instances to have confidence on (35)

Khap collective way of life. To ascribe human progress on individual interest as a defining element is to belie history in favour of some vested interests.

In recent cases of disputes, including some with fall out of honour killings it sharply came out that among Jats, which is a farming community largely with deep characteristics of its profession in its culture, mode and mores of life, a change is visible of a wrong variety; it is afflicted with some of the worst characteristics essentially associated with the industrial -cum- commercial mode that are eroding deeply its original traits with irreparable damage to its future as a dynamic community.

The afflictions coming from different professions may signal conversion to a new type but it necessarily may not always mean a better option either to choose from cultural point of view. Let it be remembered that property mind, jealousy and fierce cut-throat race for grabbing at the cost of others that this commercial culture breeds every moment, every hour without fail, are some such symptoms of a different profession than agriculture, which constantly go to erode community life and feelings of oneness with each other. To reconcile with this transformation on the basis of the myth that it represents progress to modernity is not always a happy choice.

Read on....

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Perceptions and Perspectives

5

Rural-Urban Divide

Before proceeding on the subject of this study let it be made clear what India stands for and what it is passing through presently. India is a country with vast natural and human resources who had had a dream; with a potentiality when British rulers left its shores in 1947 after a pitched battle to stay on. They left reluctantly and with vengeance.

In vengeance of a trader with a long experience of the ruler too, they bled it and did what they could to sow seeds of distrust among different sections of its population fanning division of various. At the same time, they were cunning enough to extract assurances from inheritors of Raj for safeguarding their economic interests in the changed equations with thr new dispensation here.

Though history stood against the colonialists, they could play upon the aspirations of the new rulers. They could not stay any longer, but ensured whispering influence with them. People here, however, were up for their natural right to manage their own affairs. Enough was enough; they had suffered too long. British colonialists had given a bloody nose and ravaged this nation without mercy and with no sense of regret for sins to its history. Indians were not prepared to bear further. The day came. And it was the midnight hour of 14-15th. August 1947. Amidst agony, they rejoiced to win freedom at last and remembered their valiant ancestors of 1857-58 with tears of joy. It was a day to remember with no regret for the failures the nation had suffered on the way to freedom after a long journey of sacrifices. The nation paid tributes to the fallen soldiers of the long struggle for emancipation.

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Khap It is a country of vast land mass, endowed with rich forest and mineral wealth and varied climatic zones to enjoy where a laborious but simple hearted labouring force has sufficient grit to live and live with dignity that many others wish to possess. With such a legacy behind its dreams of hope, India arose from the ashes virtually in 1947. India and Pakistan were born on the day as two independent nations out of one, much due to the machinations of a colonial master.

It was a newly born nation in India that had cultivated a sense of bright sunrise on that midnight hour to look to the future. It had inherited nothing substantial from the old regime to rely upon for its onward journey on that hour of hope and despair but a steely structure as a liability, which knew only to rule. The grit of its population was the asset.

But again, history seems to have played truant to its future and cheated this nation for not being vigilant of its crafty leaders. By 1991 they could muster enough courage to declare this nation again open to all those who had ravaged its past and blinded the future to loot and share. The pace is astounding this time and the dissent not tolerated. The rush to obtain peculiar uniformity during these six decades is both unprecedented and ruthless at the same time. It debased the morale and mores more than anything else this time by contrived consent. The level of the divide between rural and urban India is astounding. Rural India is under complete siege it experienced so acutely never before.

Urban India now represents a new face on this land mass. It is rich and arrogant. It is malicious towards its working population, its future, its dream of peace and prosperity with justice to all. The urban dream is to dominate the world as East India Company once did it to India with ruthlessness and cunningness where need arise.

On the other side of the divide, rural India stands deeply mauled and badly expropriated by the time this declaration of 1991 came on the scene. It did not suspect the intentions (38)

Perceptions and Perspectives of its leadership when they embarked upon the game right in 1950’s in the name of development. The pinch started to bite slowly. Rural people simple by nature and honest in dealings could not understand the contours of the game that was laid primarily to rob them off their labour and resources.

The crafted electoral system also started unfolding so as to hoodwink them, which they were hardly capable to understand its side effects. It was a completely new game for them to catch the mischief. This rural-urban divide soon started turning the balance in favour of the rich and powerful. The die was cast for the takeover in their favour.

The stage of development made it easy to work decisively in providing commanding position to the urban sector by the time liberalisation policy was declared as an official policy to enrich the rich and rob the poor in service of the powerful. Presently, it has launched a movement to grab land, mines, forest and water with furious speed and simultaneously making rural population docile enough to merge its cultural identity too so that the desired uniformity is attained for further adventures in the region.

The 2011 Census captures only the tip in terms of the crisis rural sector is facing for these deliberate policy measures. Between 1991 and 2001 over seventy lakh people quit farming for whom cultivation was the main livelihood i.e. on average close to 2000 farmers a day were made to abandon it in the country through deliberate policy decisions. Where do they go? Nothing in employment data suggests they are absorbed in decent work, except perhaps doing menial jobs for the rich and sleeping on footpaths of shining cities or adding numbers in slums. In between 2001 and 2011 the speed has quickened fast. Nearly 42% are ready to quit now under pressure of looming hunger.

None could have bargained for this fate when the mandarins had defined development for them in 1991 in their eloquence best. It was done all in the name of a paradise.

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Khap The future of young generation was placed virtually at stake, despite a few getting into the bandwagon of the new masters.

Remember, many had chance likewise to ride the British wagon too during slavery period. Same unmistakeable reality stares now in the eyes to every one’s despair. Situation, however, is much complex for redemption. Countrymen stand much more divided and divided crosswise than what they were in pre-independence period due to deep and crafty machinations of the new native rulers.

The growth rate of cities was 10.07 % during 1991-01 and it has increased to 53.75 % in the current decade of 200111. It is not for nothing. One senior journalist has succinctly put it: From late 1990s, as the agrarian crisis began to bite, communities started to migrate. The crisis however was contrived and without mandate, describing the hollowness of our democratic pretentions. Let us watch the growth: Year

Total Rural

Rural Urban Rural Urban increase increase increase over previous overprevious minus 1901 238.4 212.5 25.9 1911 252.1 226.2 13.7 25.9 0.0 13.7 1921 251.3 223.2 -3.0 28.1 2.2 -5.2 1931 279.0 245.5 22.3 33.5 5.4 16.9 1941 318.7 274.5 29.0 44.2 10.7 18.4 1951 361.1 298.6 24.1 62.4 18.3 5.8 1961 439.2 360.3 61.7 78.

16.5 45.2 1971 548.2 439.0 18.7 109.1 30.2 48.5 1981 683.3 523.9 84.8 159.5 50.3 34.5 1991 846.3 628.7 104.8 217.6 58.1 46.7 2001 1028.7 742.5 113.8 286.1 68.5 45.3 2011 1210.2 833.1 90.6 377.1 91.0 -0.4 (Figures rounded off and in millions) At a time when Vidarbha was reeling with agony due to ever rising number of farmer’s suicides and when former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh assured Mumbaikars to (40)

Perceptions and Perspectives elevate their city of pride to the status of Indian Shanghai soon while his ministry is taking steps to urbanise India to the extent of 44% by 2020 (as per recommendations of Mackenzie report) one with a conscious sympathy for rural India shuddered. Not many, though. Many more rejoiced when project 100 smart cities was unfolded by BJP. Others remained sceptical or ignorant of the events to come alive.

Some were, however, not amused over the emerging events.

Let us not mistake in judgement. When the new announcement came of this intent, it was merely a statement of fact; official efforts so far made have paid rich dividends while the government is making frantic efforts in converting rural economy as a sure adjunct to serve the industrialcommercial complex for long to take ground.

Rural India thus is officially put on the sacrificing block with glee. The spine shivered only of those who knew the pace of ruin rural India is forced to embrace. On its debris, the urban India is destined to shine! This realisation is still to sink even with those who love their abode in the country side with hope to share a moment of peace and tranquillity among their own brethren at a time of need to detoxify/ de-stress their nerves strained while serving city masters.

But there are still few souls who know for almost six decades now that the country is destined to be taken over by forces that are inimical to the very existence of peasants.

Its roadmap was laid with introduction of the draft Constitution in the Constituent Assembly on November 04, 1948 when the then Law Minister gave a clarion call to throw away village outside as a ‘cesspool of conservatism, ignorance and lethargy’ in order to wish a bright future for an urban India.

Earlier, forces wishing demise for rural India were weak and consolidating. By 1991 they had grown bold enough.

Now, they feel empowered to take over. The ground is (41)

Khap prepared meticulously for final plunge. The results are there to see and feel. The pauperised multitude is at its knee in obedience and walk out. The scheme has worked to the script.

By the year 1991 Indian establishment found the situation much congenial for the kill. The collapse by then of the Soviet bloc had paved way for the American bloc to lay down ground rules and dictate economic prescriptions in international relations. New agreements were charted for trade and tariff taking agriculture in its ambit under WTO. The outright robbery committed against the agricultural economy in India is unprecedented during these decades.

The only other example perhaps is found in America of late nineteenth and early twentieth century when Red Indians and later, the settler peasants were uprooted and vanquished.

The expropriation of Indian peasantry, however, is truly tragic in scale and depth. Last two decades wrecked it. Land and minerals are open for grab. Nowhere the ever optimist peasant by profession is put to a situation of such desperation when suicide remains the only option to him, except in independent India. Survival is closed as an option.

This crusade on behalf of super rich - both native and foreign in India has left nearly 3 lakh desperate peasants committing suicides in its trail, besides making rural sector as a whole pauper and begging. A minuscule minority has come up as the beneficiary like the British did, to act as shock absorbers for the system. This is the current story.

The entire political establishment in the country is in good celebration. It is gaga. Rural India is a vast territory as a prized possession for it.

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Perceptions and Perspectives

6

Cultural Divide

The rural-urban divide is not confined between two economic narratives. The very basis of existence of both is different. While urban life is woven around capital based way to produce by wage labour for consumption through market mechanism on price valuation, while the rural life is based on family labour system of production, consumption and exchange giving rise to two different set of social-cultural mode of existence with corresponding web of relationships.

The wage-labour in trade and industries is tied with the interest of these professions despite antagonism between masters and their servants in terms of wages, while the independent family labour is the unit in rural sector.

Trade-commerce and industry with corresponding web of social-cultural relations form the firm foundation of urban life when agriculture-animal husbandry along with allied avocations is the principal mode of production for rural India with its own social-cultural web of relations to sustain. Urban centres represent capital, while villages broadly are centres of labour. Despite efforts in convergence, this is a clear division between the two. And this makes a lot of difference.

All because of their respective avocations, city life reverberates with sparkling individualism working in self interest often colliding with each other in competition, while villages are for collective way of life surviving on mutual dependence. This is how both sectors of economy operate to give substance to their respective social-cultural life. The conflict between the two is sharp, though with the intervention of state rural economy is sought to be (43)

Khap subordinated to the interests of capital-based mode destroying its pristine life and relations more and more releasing a chain of turmoil in consequence. This conflict is a reflection of unreconcilable incompatibility between the two sets of life under two modes of production.

Another aspect of problem need be explained. India is a country largely of settled life, despite pockets of migrant labour in seasons who keep rooted to their parental places with ethnic pride intact. Still this migrant labour is the carrier of cocktail cultural as per rule. With rising pace of industrial and commercial enterprises this section of migrants in population loose slowly but surely the quality of a settled life and is a dangerous mix.

Thus these pivots, the fulcrums in both cases are two different categories that provide cultural frames quite different to each other.

Before the issue of culture is taken up for this study, firstly, let one point be clear that India is faced with two types of cultures that are in contest for supremacy at this time for reasons of two sets of avocations; largely one centred in cities and the other in villages.

Village life with family, as its unit celebrates its culture based on relationship. It is its mode of existence. In family it is blood relationships that shapes it to a living organism with a common way of life, while the web of relationships shapes the life in a given community. Despite, presently, rural India is grappling with a peculiar situation that has been thrust upon it. It is facing a war like situation in every rural family between two sets of cultures for dominance since the day globalisation of its national economy was made the central agenda and hectic efforts were made to overturn its social as well as juridical texture, tagging its future with American dream of imperial aspirations having a corresponding culture that flowers only within the ambit of market forces.

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Perceptions and Perspectives The native culture based on mores of a neighbourhood community weaving around a web of relationships is under serious threat of take over for extinction.

What is being touted by the offensive crusaders of modernity for rural India to adopt in fact is a way of life that has emerged with rootless immigrants/ dislocated population harbouring a different milieu of aspiration, in contrast to what settled communities worldwide have been living with their own cultural mores corresponding to their settled ways of subsistence, gaining ground through a long process of assimilation and generalisation.

Two sets of Culture It is a known fact that culture of settled communities with family-farming as their main occupation had provided peace and stability to social life, while culture of immigrants with industrial-commercial activities as hub of productivedistributive system is crafted to support an exploitative regime that creates constant conflict and war of interests.

Both these sets of cultures are two distinct categories incompatibles to each other because of their respective character. To make cocktail of the two is to invite heady disaster of an unbearable burst for nearly 70 per cent of the population here – a tragedy of colossal magnitude, laying the path for takeover by rapacious corporate capital through the collateral cost in human sufferings.

There is a question: what is wrong or right with the cultural mode of immigrants which our elites are hell bent to thrust upon unwilling rural folks in India, with and without the help of state power, whereas earlier it had remained busy to instil a sense of pride in its own ancient culture and propagate it world over with much zeal.

Conversely then, what is so cherishing about the culture that had grown with the settled communities in its past having cultivation as avocation for subsistence living in villages?

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Khap The question assumes significance since Indian elites, including the ruling upper class have come to see everything American as panacea to fulfil its own global aspirations of an emerging imperialist country today while around 70 per cent of its population is facing a future of ruin, if agriculture with all natural resources shift to corporate sector and this population is turned to serve the new masters sitting at their feet in wage-slavery for survival, which it now feverishly seeks to convert with the help of state power and money.

Indian corporate capital finds itself in a dominating position to achieve what it aspires. It has the strength for a leap; six decades of unchallenged pursuit to come up in age with the requisite agility coupled with gathered mass has given it that confidence after managing state establishment to serve it. In a changed situation after the collapse of its strong ally, the Soviet camp, in pursuit of the base to takeoff and cherishing an imperialist object after gaining sufficient maturity in the earlier phase of so-called socialistic pattern, Indian corporate capital immediately took a turn and decided in 1991 to tag itself to American imperialists for further consolidation, like China did at the close of Mao period and take a leap. It is doing now since 1991.

There is hardly any difference of opinion that the scheme of economic structure needs a corresponding cultural change to succeed, apart from a corresponding shift in political, social and legal frame to sustain. This is what is being attempted feverishly now by it to make the scheme ‘irretrievable’, as was declared so by the then Finance Minister while embarking on this charted course in 1991 on the floor of Lok Sabha. It was not a brag either.

Past two decades of feverish attempts to over-turn the whole texture testifies the determination of the ruling circles in this respect. By now while economic policies are charted to fleece the people and enriching the big cats, the educational and cultural modes too are being redesigned to (46)

Perceptions and Perspectives serve this policy of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. New education policyin 1986 served it.

It is worth remembering that American economy has reached a plateau; it seeks fresh avenues to maintain its level of profitability and consumption having high production capacity with the rise in technological levels, keeping a good number in penury as its reserve army. It cannot add further real wealth to its national kitty. Apart from cheap female lanour-power, sex has been added to the list of business to provide much needed oxygen to a gasping economy, just after II World War. The change over was easy there in a country of immigrants with the result that whole American society by now stands indoctrinated as ardent supporters of this make over. By turning individuals as sex addicts helped the system for a period, like other drugs, and youth energy was diverted to unproductive use.

Culture of immigrants To follow American type of economy will need an American type of culture, which is the culture of immigrants in the nation of immigrants where sex is turned as a commodity freely available at the call of market with no inhibitions attached, turning it as an object of entertainment.

Women Liberation Movement there made the shift easy for females to convert. This is recent history and well rehearsed.

It is currently being touted for India too and feverishly its settled character changed to suit the requirements of commercial-industrial enterprises on American model. The NGO sector in India is vigorously engaged to do the job.

Immigrants are a rootless lot always, having no ground of their own to stand firmly upon and no neighbourhood community to care about. Survival of the individual becomes the law that governs relations with adjustments here and there to iron out patently divisive edges. Cooperation between them is like those of marketeers, governed by the (47)

Khap rule of convenience of merchants to the command of money power where men and women are made slaves to the rule of money-wage with little or no emotional relationship in between, every one is for self. Self interest guides their relationship with others. Freedom is to be free for sale and/ or purchase of their capabilities as per rule of market or dictation of the powerful master. Other fringe apps are decoration pieces to turn living a bit easy in midst of frenzy.

Immigrants, unless they are given chance to settle for taking roots for a community to emerge, are a difficult lot to assimilate and are generally not permitted universally to mix with regular settlements. But in America, economy took over rapidly giving no chance for them to emerge as settled communities with a web of relationships, grow into defined neighbourhood communities and consequently the culture also took a different course which now defines an altogether different category with its fangs to fear.

The culture, likewise, in a settled neighbourhood community corresponds to its way of subsistence that is characteristic of family-farming, duly supported by a well groomed web of relationships for stability and peace. India is still largely a nation of villages with such settled communities that gave it a culture of its own, as seperate to immigrants’ culture. It is different thus from American culture on this account.

The concepts of brotherhood (bhaichara), cooperation, inter-dependence, openness in dealings and mutual trust are traits that keep agriculture operations running smoothly in a community setting here. To denounce these traits, in the name of fighting ‘old (feudal) traditions and customs’ in favour of industrial-commercial customs, virtually is a war cry against agriculture based economy of rural India and its way of life that caters nearly 68 per cent of population with no capacity of the present state to provide better occupation for a stable society to build upon. To convert this population (48)

Perceptions and Perspectives to a life of immigrants is virtually a criminal act.

The culture of immigrants and culture of settled communities are at war fiercely being fought in every family presently in rural India for domination. For one the repository is individual while for the other it is family and its neighbourhood community where family sustains in common.

This tussle between these two sets of cultures is thus being forced to take final shape without first analysing which one goes in favour of society, taking for granted that industrial-commercial mode is a sure path for peace and prosperity while world wide it is in cyclic crisis to the detriment of majority and breeding constantly deleterious strife in trail. What is there so progressive about it?

If one is not conditioned to repeat clichĂŠs, ad nauseam, industrial-commercial mode under corporate capital or under the so-called socialist dispensation, so experimented during twentieth century, does not provide confidence in its favour. The underlying reason is its floating labour-unit in the individual who is free for hire, necessarily having no attachment to any other institution other than his/her master in the enterprise and wage that is the firm ground for giving rise to individualism as a philosophy of life at the cost of social relations and its culture.

In larger part, like Haryana, western UP, Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi Dehat, MP, villages are mostly settlements of kinsmen forming a neighbourhood community of relationships. Large number of them developed as habitat of blood or fostered relations. This relationship never dies with age. One cannot renounce it at will. It is sustained through mutual dependence. Take an example: If one member goes out to as a sanyasi with no connection for years thereafter and opts to return, say fifty years, the doors of the family are not closed on him. He resumes his relationship.

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Khap The force in relationship in a settled community is not transitory, adopted for fancy and to be changed with the fall of a hat. The foster mother or sister remains so and does not change at sweet will, if it is not fake or deceptive in intent.

Such relationship remains as good as between biologically valid relationships, provided it is not set in mischief.

The culture so developed is ingrained with customs and traditions that act like code of conduct for smooth functioning between families having distinct traits of their ancestors. Villages are thus clusters of kinsmen with a web of relationships that cannot be wished away at will. If disturbed forcefully it will invite uncalled disaster in trail.

Agriculture being their mainstay, villages in India in general and northern zone in particular have been free from Brahmanical order to the annoyance of protagonists from sanatanist mythology. This area has been nurturing a way of life which is more secular and mundane with its own customs and traditions to regulate its social life. For some period, a sort of truce worked that made this area fiercely independent in self governance; interference in community, family affairs was never accepted from outside forces and remained free from theological oppression, inviting a scornful attention later from the powerful and resourceful brahmanical orthodoxy.

This is the background of a running prejudice against farming communities, like Jats and its way of life since long in such circles that clouds judgement on issues like khap, since media was able to project it deliberately in its recent campaign as a practice with the Jats alone, which is far away from ground reality. Caste divisions apart, in cultural mode there is striking commonality of traditions and customs here among all non-brahmanical sections of population.

Take an example: Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 has many provisions that cross customary laws of many regions and (50)

Perceptions and Perspectives invite scorn from unwilling communities in a country of much diversity. It seems many things were sought to be stream-rolled by back door politics in the early period of independence through legislations of this kind. One such provision in the said Act ordains that no one will be allowed to marry a widow of his brother. The provision is there in this piece since 1955 but who cares?

A few legislators/parliamentarians of that time feared this type of dichotomy to work against harmony and invite trouble later. See a case in point: While speaking on Hindu Code Bill in the Provisional Parliament on 22 September, 1951 one member representing Punjab (from Haryana region) cautioned against such disasters. He ‘objected to efforts imposing Manu or Yajnavalkya law when none from his region, whether Hindu, Sikh or Muslim has not asked to over ride their customary law. I cannot help saying that this attempt is nothing but an act of abuse of power because we should have applied this Hindu Code Bill to those only who wanted to be governed by it....our race did not yield to the Brahmanic rules...and I am opposed to the back-door method through which it has developed. I disagree with regard to the rules and regulations which you are enacting in respect of marriage and divorce without caring for the prevailing customs. You can differentiate between the mode of life in a town and that of a village and see how much difference is there between them but still you want to enact a common law for both. Having such a vast difference between their social customs at hand, to enact a law which will be against their customs and usages, would be a great injustice to them, he had cautioned (emphasis added). The rulers did not care.

In the present controversy developing around ‘honour’ killings, if someone or some group of people happens to ask for change in such Hindu Marriage laws cannot be a sin, unless one is prejudiced that the demand has come from some people of Jat community, though such killings are not (51)

Khap confined to any one caste or community. Laws cannot be made sacrosanct at the cost of social cohesion.

There are few pockets of immigrants here or forcefully displaced persons who are also taking cultural shift akin to immigrants. The rapid urbanisation is giving rise to a class of people who feel easy more with culture of immigrants, though Indian towns and cities in general, barring few metropolitan urban centres, had enjoyed community settlements which now are threatened to an alien atmosphere more akin to immigrants.

The question then arises: what are the reasons this change in the mode of subsistence and culture of a settled way of life is being sought to that of a vagabond life for these rural folks? Why freedom of sex, sexuality and marriage are touted so forcefully these days and who stands to gain from such nefarious change? Why this time is selected for such issues by this campaign and who stands to loose by this choice i.e. what are the motives behind this tirade So, let us grapple with the khap.

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Perceptions and Perspectives

7

Khap System: A Story in History In such a grim setting, the question of Khap became

hot at a time of choosing by its adversary. So, it has to be studied in this context to know its strength and weakness.

One thing needs to be stressed in the beginning: the so-called history of Khap so far dished out is a misleading treasure to believe in, whether available on internet or provided by the print media, including many academic exercises so far done mostly from conditioned perceptions drawn from education bequeathed by colonial past.

At best, these surmises in the name of khap history are estimates of individuals mainly guided by the very same education system to look upon India as ordained by British Macaulay with a colonial object that unfortunately is shaping still largely the very thinking faculty of independent India.

The drawback with such type of research lies in the stereotype pattern that is habitually followed giving no scope for understanding the problem freely, with reason to its specific context. The prescriptions from authorities, designed as these are to kill freshness in thought, have added nothing to objective history. This method cannot elicit credibility.

The written accounts then in different periods by different people of variant viewpoints can at best be taken as mere scholarly exercises. The logical reading of human history of its development compels us to be unconventional.

To keep the interests of a moving society ahead, the results of such narratives have to be taken with precaution, since these may or may not be a guide to the future.

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Khap To know Khaps from Harsh Wardhan times alone or from ancient written scriptures is merely a leaf from written history that is so far so good. May be, it is named as such at that time. But it cannot be reduced to this span of community life. It has a much earlier system with wider connotation.

For objectivity, Khap thus first has to be explained, defined and understood in its perspective. It needs to be remembered first that Khap is not an institution but a community practice with the people. Being a regulated practice through conventions that had emerged through a long process of experience and generalisation it is given a name but called differently in different areas and regional zones throughout the country and even beyond.

What Khap signifies The community practice, later called Khap or Khap Panchayat in one zone and named differently in other, is a system of self-management having no hierarchy and no exclusion within its jurisdiction. The concept of equality is fiercely in practice, so there is no concept of regular/ permanent office bearers in authority or structure. It is the best form of direct democracy, so it does not have standing representatives. It has no fixed or permanent form. Khap is informal in style and content, so there is no constitution; a universal practice throughout. Through centuries of practice it has certain conventions, traditions and customs to go by.

Panchayat word here means assembly and not a body of Panches which is the meaning given to the sarkari Panchayat. Khap subscribes to panch parmeshwar concept in its dealings; after deliberation in open at least five elders are choosen to evaluate and announce their opinion on the issue for accptance in the preliminary. Hence panchayat.

One of its defining features is exceptional: it rejects the very concept of Authority in the sense what F. Engels described essential for orderly conduct of affairs in society.

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Perceptions and Perspectives Khap belies the inevitability of authority since its inception with success. It is a marvellous innovation in the history of self-governance and democracy that assures a vista opening for a healthy practice in social management and a dependable alternate to the presence of a coercive state and coterie emerging. The present distortions are not its making.

As said earlier, Khap or Khap Panchayat, in short, is a voluntary assembly of people in rural areas at different centres, where village does not make a Khap. Village is a distinct entity in itself. Khap goes without any discrimination and inclusive of all castes, communities, religions and genders at different centres according to demand of the issues at hand, having a common bond of Bhaichara to help resolve disputes and/or decide on issues of interest for common action. It comes into operation on demand when concerned village or community fails to resolve issue at hand.

Khap is a system of collective wisdom and collective decision for self-governance; regulate, resolve and settle issues within the confines of a defined area of bhaichara. And Bhaichara has a basis in definite relationships being observed therein.

It is absurd or just canard to say that women are not part of Khap. Khap is a name given to a practice in an area where women are part of the productive process in all walks of life, then none can exclude them from khap, if they choose to attend. It is not a male affair. In areas this practice is known as Khap, identity of individuals is taken along with the family concerned. Women generally do not take part by choice when their elders on behalf of family are there. Their interests are habitually taken care of by other family member in the meet.

Gotra Khap is also a universal practice but confined to particular Biradari/community/ caste, when it goes into family/marital issues within the extended Kutumbh and concerned community. It has a Biradari connotation.

Assembly of elders belonging to the concerned biradari are called for help taking them as guardians, which has also been (55)

Khap named recently as Gotra Khap to differentiate it from Khap, while Sarv Khap is an assembly of all the Khaps to handle issues of wider implications.

In India, what is known as Gram Sabha was once called ‘Little Republics’ or say Village Assembly to underline its essence of an effective method of self-governance under direct democracy of its own make and characteristics, as distinct from the representative form of democracy devised under a constitutional frame for industrial-commercial dispensation to serve the minority in power. Khap consists of more than one village in immediate Bhaichara area with common cultural affinity linked with others of similar traditions and customs, totally informal but fiercely independent in operation.

British for the first time had sensed the strength of Khaps during the mass rebellion against their rule in 1857-58 and took concerted administrative/legal steps for demolishing its strength to avert any future disaster to their exploitative rule. The correspondence from Bahadurshah Zaffar to Haryana Sarvkhap with headquarter at Sauram in Muzaffarnagar district of UP during the events of 1857 had in fact alerted British rulers about its functioning and were quite alarmed about its resilience. They cunningly turned it into a formal institution of local-self administration under direct official supervision and dictation by enacting Panchayat laws. Since then it is still the practice with all state governments and the centre.

Sufficient official reports, including that of an investigating commission, concerning this turbulent period testify to this alarm and the way they later designed to face it. The universal term, Panchayat was hijacked and utilised for the official structure. In common parlance, it is called sarkari (official) Panchayat in place of Bhaichara Panchayat and Khap Panchayat that enjoy voluntary support.

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Perceptions and Perspectives Community spans two formats. One bhaichara is denoted in extended Kutumbh. It is also called Biradari (caste Khap for the media) may be living apart and at different places (with no proximate word for both Kutumbh and Biradari in English) while, the other form of Bhaichara denotes a communality of socio-economic interests settled down within a village or beyond long enough to generate a bond of oneness. The common Gotras among many Castes, including SCs and religions is an eloquent testimony.

The first category generally is charged with issues relating to marital disputes or problems that arise in course of an active family life or resolve/settle problems arising between families of the same Kutumbh or Biradari. The second form is normally called upon to resolve /settle issues arising within Bhaichara villages of common aims and culture.

Later, with the intervention of alien forces like trade and commerce to start with and the industrial mode of production with capital as its driving force, a different form of governance took shape that came into conflict with participative democracy embodied into Khap and found expression in the form of modern state to cater to the interests of a minority which assumed the role of ruler.

Khap: a distinct system Khap is a different and distinct system with no parallel in urban setting. It rests with inalienable characteristics that are born with its principle avocation having a settled way of life. It evolved into a definite system of self-governance through a long period of practice in its struggle with nature to co-exist, guarding its cardinal principles of bond against transgression zealously from outside or within.

Khap/Gotra Khap has also no fixed tenure or structure. It meets at need, resolves and dissolves. Any family dispute is first tackled by Kutumbh that goes to Gotra Khap at a level concerned parties prefer. If the dispute persists and parties to dispute prefer they can go for Gotra Khap to settle.

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Khap Khap is not a local mechanism for dispute resolution alone. It is more than that. It evolved as a people’s own mechanism for self-governance and designed to work informally, guided by customary principles of democratic norms and with a solid belief in collective. As a matter of practice, the assembly after hearing views propose ukasa of few to go for in-depth deliberation before proposal is announced in the open assembly by them for approval.

Such elders of repute and respect, normally emerging by consent and confidence of all present in the assembly, including the confidants of parties to the dispute are chosen.

This assures just discharge of the job. After discharging the assigned duty group dissolves as easily as the assembly concludes and there remains no claim to leadership.

Another assuring feature with Khap is its inherent tendency for self-correction, having communitarian wisdom to keep itself fresh and clean with a jealous eye against stagnation every moment like flowing stream of water.

Otherwise, no such practice can continue for centuries with vigour and vitality that Khap system represents even now.

Khap: not a pack of brutes When charges are levied that ‘honour’ killings are common where Khaps are prevalent, some facts of history are set aside. First, it is wrong to assert that honour killings are confined only to areas where the system prevails by the name of Khap. So-called honour killings are as common against deviants in human history as wars are for greed or possession.

In both cases, solution lies with removing the cause.

Mere idealistic appeals, sermons or threats of stringent laws do not solve either. It has never. Find a country where both evils do not exist. Honour killings do occur in other countries where formal structures prevail. Simply to lay the blame for honour killings on Khaps or enraged family members will not vanish this violence in thin air.

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Perceptions and Perspectives Sexual crimes are associated since the times when human sexuality was converted into an object for enjoyment and efforts made to condition humans being to fall for it.

Who did it? Not the common man indeed. These were the rulers who did it, having some motives to gain. Presently, question arises: why glamorise sexual vagrancy, in the first instance among youths and propagate banal individual right of free sex just to make a fertile ground for sex-based industries to flourish, but blame Khaps to divert attention from the real culprits? It does not serve any beneficial purpose except to turn social norms upside down.

Secondly, when fighting Khaps the concept of honour is made a subject of ridicule, it benefits none in bargain; rather it devalues the importance of honour in society. The war of independence could never have been fought without any sense of honour among the young generation, neither a generation of such valiant fighters as Bhagat Singh, Chandershekhar Azad or Neta ji could ever come up carrying the highest sense of dignity and honour. Yes, depravity – sexual too by a male or female is dishonourable for any civilised society where cultured conduct is valued.

The concept of ‘honour’ is prevalent not only in India but in all the societies world over, except where feeling of shame or honour has yielded place to money or have lost any sense of pride or grief in the wild world of money grab or domination and have no family or Kutumbh /community bonds to worry about. And unless one finds in wretched way of American Wall Street a life style model to be modern and search satisfaction, the sense of pride or shame is likely to prevail. India is part of such universe, which takes pride in its history of thought and practice that family or Khap denotes without regret, except Dalal Street followers.

Thirdly, Khap is not a pack of brutes revelling to kill. It has a fine sense of belonging with an unmatched record of kinship having deep sensibilities to human relations. If one (59)

Khap does not ignore its history, basic tenet of Khap for punishment is “Ha, Maa, Dhik� with no capital punishment. It is a taboo.

Principle of Ha, Maa, Dhik The principle can be defined thus: for the first violation, the community expresses its disapproval i.e. Ha. If the transgression is repeated second time, the community collectively notifies its disgust against the failure in Maa. Only on grave violation repeatedly, the community denounces i.e. Dhik rules its disassociation with the culprit, always with option to join ranks on reform. Killing is no option in this doctrine and scheme of code. This is the principle for khaps to follow, while dealing deviants.

Dynamism unsurpassed Khap is as dynamic a system as any intelligent society can have with its functions and operations. It should not be allowed to be usurped by any one and used for fulfilling selfish purposes. Unfortunately, danger for such efforts is greater when politics has taken to only one principle in front; disbelieve the people, believe the system.

Let us not ignore the fact of its history that Khap could survive despite the parallel state structure that the British colonialists enacted to make the population docile by inaugurating legal Panchayats with a provision that only official Panchayats would exist in a village. In addition, they tried to tighten their grip by enacting ‘Registration of Societies Act in 1860 (remember within just three years of 1857) with British craftiness at its best.

In rural India, the people do have faith more in their own practice than what a legal or official structure offers them to depend upon in times of need. This tells volumes about what and why Khap is so dear to the masses than what elite club describes it to be. But why today elites so vehemently are out to banish Khap like the colonial master did? This closeness with the people that elites fear most.

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Perceptions and Perspectives The strength of Khap lies in its informal character with no fixtures to chain the future, where everything goes public in open assembly. Underhand dealings and manipulated deliberations do not deliver. Contrived decisions do not translate on the ground. Upstart leadership goes bust just the moment it faces wisdom of the assembly on issues for deliberation and without blinkers of individual interests.

It is a common experience that official Panchayat, on the other hand, is a government institution to rule at village level. Mere choosing few by election periodically does not change this basic character and its official stature in practice.

Official Panchayat is no self-governing body of people as is claimed by its wise proponents. People use it for the limited purpose it is there. For rest of the agenda, Khap is there for them. At its worst, Khap is much better democratic than an elected Panchayat Samiti with BDPO/DM to rule as lord or a local court presided over by a professional to adjudicate, with least vitality of any of these! These formal institutions of state, despite claim to the contrary, have nothing to do with aspirations of the masses; neither have the potentiality to fulfil any.

Official Panchayats co-exist with Khap/ Gotra Khap system in villages, without much conflict. These serve them in respective fields with ease. The trouble with official Panchayats is its strait-jacket format as with any other bureaucratic department to deliver, having an assigned role under a particular law. Khap system is not bound by any such restriction, except its own conventions to guide. It is its vitality which no formal and/or official institution can attain.

Yes, people do kill on matters of antagonism. None kills for fun, except the lunatic. Killing a person and a kin is different. Unless man is taken by extreme hatred for a kin due to some unbearable provocation killing is not an easy affair. But, ‘honour’ killing is different. It is heinous more (61)

Khap than a murder, simply because some enterprising journalist has labelled it such? In fact, pen-pushers have choosen a word of their liking for such murders. These killings occur only on grave provocation when there is repudiation of family relationship by persistent deviation.

Moreover, dignity and honour are not petty affairs to be ridiculed by small time upstarts. It defies logic. For honour there have been wars, but none has described these as honour wars. By any logic ‘honour’ killing cannot be a different category of murder than what it is.

In the present case, tirade in fact aims to rouse hatred among unsuspecting people against Khap truly to the age old saying: give a bad name to the dog and kill it. Since Khap today does not suit a certain hidden agenda to be fulfilled so efforts are to have a nice kill. It is no better than a game of urban high-brow being played with rural people.

Simply because its adversaries decry, this community practice in rural areas, called Khap does not loose importance.

The charges by this elite group are motivated and have distinct mala fide as are analysed henceforth in following pages of this treatise.

One thing is sure, rural India has a role to play in the life of this nation and if delivered of its ills, it can open a new vista for it.

Go on to ponder......

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Perceptions and Perspectives

8

Myths Analysed

The problem of fighting myths in a wider field of people’s life is of much more importance than relating merely to Khap. Myths blind the society but help again to build more myths to serve sectarian interests to the disadvantage of saner elements. It creates a vicious circle of sin.

Constitutional Test The myth about Constitution of India as the litmus test of fidelity for anything and everything must be analysed for what it is worth first, as also its biblical nature that seems to be the intent of creating it when representative democracy in practice stands bust world over, without exception .

Khap is asked to clear the constitutional test in free India for the first time after over 65 years of independence! It was a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice M. Katju that expressed such an opinion when Khap was not the issue before the Bench, without examination and going beyond the due process and without hearing Khap that it is unconstitutional and illegal, merely on hearsay from the corporate media or personal predilection. The opinion cannot have any legal force; unless legislature enacts.

Later, when the then Home Minister choose to repeat it, as media does, ad nauseam question will arise: was it ever conceived that Constitution has to record everything to be legitimate? The right to assemble is duly part of that very Constitution to which reference is made by such pundits on hire to denounce Khap only to hit rural India.

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Khap It does not lie with a Home Minister to interpret Constitution neither with the media. They are not the arbiter of Indian nation either; legitimately only the people of India are. These derogators are simply arrogating to themselves what is not their right to do. True, khap and family/ community, like so many other things do not find any place in the Indian Constitution. These are pre-constitution creations. Their existence is not subject to Constitution; neither can it extinguish their presence. Only certain socialeconomic processes may do the job surreptitiously.

Philosophically, the term constitution refers to the idea that a government should be legally limited in its powers and that its authority or legitimacy depends on it observing such limitations. Constitution or the state cannot limit the society to which it is answerable.

It is amusing to watch one variety among crusaders who once were hyper active denouncing Indian Constitution as a bourgeois document in content and openly used to declare their intent to ‘sabotage it from within’ to bring about a social change of their liking. Now these gentlemen have grown more loyal than the king himself by making it a litmus test of fidelity for others! It is their ideological fantasy or sheer opportunism in politics, one does not know for sure.

By now, both the state and its system of representative democracy, as institutions of governance, have come to be associated with a philosophy which has the individual as its corner-stone, debunking family and its community as worthless in matters governance; and not without reason.

The basic unit of governance in Indian Constitution is the individual while in Khap it is the family/ community. This core feature of conflict between the two permeates their respective field of operation. It gives to much of the conflict at times.

Constitution of India is powerful for its coercive nature, while Khap has voluntary support system with the people for its strength, designed to protect these social practices.

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Perceptions and Perspectives It will benefit to remember that the ethos of ‘governance’ before advent of modern state in India was with selfgovernance having community/village as its cornerstone where the family used to work as a constituent part, with an inherent advantage. Family has an informal structure.

The abrupt change brought by a foreign power here to a system based on individual as its subject on the strength of its armed power proved disastrous to the social cohesion which was not the concern of British colonisers. They were here for loot. For a period the dual structure worked and the state gained momentum of its own with adoption of the new Constitution on 26 November, 1949.

Another facet of history is important to recollect. With the emergence of modern state in the era of industrial mode having capital as its driving force, democracy came to be linked only with individual citizen as its subject of concern.

This process took him/her away from the family with its protective cover, making the citizen solely dependent on the mercy of a repressive state instead.

Later, with introduction of representative form of democracy the process alienated an individualised citizens from the governing process itself by instituting the representatives as amenable material for various intents and purposes, leading to further alienation from political process.

The inherent potential of people’s power in direct democracy was in conflict of interests with the state and industrial capital. The dynamics of this situation has led to the present stage when state and representative democracy both have combined into an exploitative system to serve the interests of corporate capital as against interests of the people, more so against the interests of productive labour power. The State and Democracy (executive, legislature, judiciary, political parties and media) presently cannot work simultaneously for all. Ground reality is too obstinate.

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Khap Since Indian rural economy largely represents labour power and industrial-commercial sector located in urban centres, the state establishment has an agenda to takeover rural sector completely in the interest of corporate capital.

Legal and Constitutional frame makes it easy. This gives a reason for the corporate sector going ecstasy over it and through corporate lovely media sings songs and asks others to follow about the biblical image of the Constitution whenever it has to win any battle for it. This happened also when it was to strike hard at Khap.

It is true that a concerted effort was made to eulogise Indian Constitution as a document of governance like something sacred just after the day it was signed to make it operational; though before its adoption the talk was different.

The nation was assured that the Constitution that was adopted in hurry will be improved upon to accommodate rural India later. The need had arisen for ruling establishment to offset in fact the side effect of a stinging criticism that the draft had encountered from a good number of members and create a sense of faith on its health. This was the position in the Constituent Assembly when leadership of free India had embarked upon its journey in 1947 .

The virtual masters of Indian Constitution on their part knew what is required of them by the forces that were to become their main pillars of strength. And they did their best to satisfy the future requirements of these forces in a legal frame. They also knew that the Constitution cannot outlaw everything this class does not like. They did, like the British, to make these institutions of the people irrelevant with disuse or legally taming them despite Gandhi’s litmus test on the subject; they however could not declare these as illegal entities. They tried but on stiff opposition in Constituent Assembly wriggled out with slight concessions and promises galore. Neither, Khap practice was declared as illegal and unconstitutional concept despite their common dislike for everything rural except the votes in the elections.

(See CA proceedings for details)

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Perceptions and Perspectives A. Constitution, State and Khap Reverting back to framers of Constitution may provide a perspective to measure the scenario when foundation was being laid for future of the country. To dispel this notion out of the way for a proper evaluation of the first charge regarding constitutionality of Khap, the proper context may be placed here to remind what had actually transpired when the present constitution was being given a shape in the hope that it will work to the good of all. But it did not Let us recount a bit or two facts of the Constitution making process to understand the basic cause and how it started. It will be rewarding to recollect some of the lost moments to know why there is now so loud a clamour for judging traditional Khap practice on the touchstone of Constitution. It will reasonably explain the reason behind the demand to discard family and its relevant community.

Unfortunately for those who aspire for an orderly and reasonable way of social life, tragedy started with the adoption of the Constitution itself. The provisional Cabinet had pleaded for a Constitution that sanctified individualism as its core philosophy on the strength of which there is a claim loud enough now to turn India upside down on matters as emotional as sex, love and marriage with individual right of choice, more sacred than the right of family collective and its community to supervise its members on social behaviour.

First, let us understand that there is no valid ground to consider Constitution as sacrosanct as the demand is in the debate. In accordance with the general rule of governance, commitment to democracy was expressed when Jawaharlal Nehru presented a resolution of faith on 13.12.1946, laying down the fundamental principles for Constituent Assembly in framing the document and affirmed that ‘We stand for democracy. It will be for this house to determine what shape to give to that democracy.’ (ibid, vol.1 Book1. p.57-65) (67)

Khap One member wryly commented on the resolution thus: M.R. Masani (Bombay: General) “I welcome this Resolution in spite of the fact that neither the word “Democracy” nor the word “Socialist” finds place in its Preamble. It is perhaps just as well that those words have been avoided because as one of us here put it in his Presidential Address at the Meerut Congress, terms like socialism or democracy can be made to cover a multitude of sins. The fog of words often covers realities.”(ibid. page 92) Mohammed Sheriff warned:’ after 150 years of turmoil, after 150 years of sacrifices undergone by the people of India ..we have uprooted British imperialism.. let not imperialism be perpetuated in another form.’(ibid, p.69-70) These veterans, who had happened to preside over the destiny of a free nation and who sat down to craft the Indian Constitution, were not a homogenous lot. In fact they were of three distinct categories: One was the ruling section in a hurry. Remember the day a draft was introduced in the Constituent Assembly by the Law Minister on behalf of the Cabinet for approval and adoption. The day was 4th. November, 1948 and what he said was categorical in one respect while narrating the salient features of his draft. There is a fine quote: “I hold that these village republics have been the ruination of India. I am, therefore, surprised that those who condemn provincialism and communalism should come forward as champions of the village. What is the village but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow mindedness and communalism? I am glad that the Draft Constitution has discarded the village and adopts the individual as its unit..”(CA Debates, Book No. 2, Vol. No.VII 4 Nov. 1948, Fifth Reprint, 2009, LS Sect. New Delhi, page39) (emphasis added)

Conceding that members in the First Provisional (68)

Perceptions and Perspectives Cabinet and its Law Minister, as individuals had the right to hold opinion on matters of such importance as the character of village in India, but had no legitimate public authority to thrust their opinion on the country through a Drafting Committee, though this opinion later became official and legal view after adoption of the Constitution.

And like them, Indians have a right to hold otherwise because everything legal may or may not be legitimate and correct while anything legitimate may not be legal. This has been the recognised wisdom of jurisprudence.

Indian village is as dynamic as living organism can be, despite many ills it is now suffering were not always of its own make. By discarding village, Draft Constitution had discarded both the family and community for the individual as its unit for governance. The Law Minister then on behalf of the First Cabinet after Independence was opting for individualism as philosophy for the proposed Constitution instead of community ethos, without public mandate as fait accompli to pre-empt its future. This proved disastrous.

Quoting the British bureaucrat Metcalfe, the Law Minister on behalf of Cabinet did nothing fresh than what colonialist viewed the Indian social structure for its need in governance and later implanted it in academic field to colour the thinking faculty of Indians. Since then the quote is a philosophy of almost all westernised wise men about Indian village despite history to the contrary and repeating it ad nauseam as modern wisdom! Here was the first basic mischief with native people that laid the foundation for demolishing family and values propounded on the basis of crass individualism, with shameless arrogance.

The reaction to this bold and bald statement was equally sharp. The first member to speak on the next day Shri Damodar Swarup Seth (UP-Gen), while scathing representative character of CA, said inter alia, “ ..our struggle (69)

Khap for freedom reached the villages and it was because of the villages and because of their might that India became free. I want to ask whether there is any mention of the villages and any place for them in the structure of this great Constitution. No, nowhere, he replied himself.. had there been such autonomous republics, neither the question of linguistic provinces nor of communal majorities or minorities or of backward classes would have arisen.. (Draft) is not in harmony with our present conditions, our culture and our customs.” (ibid, page 212 dated 5th Nov.1948) Shri H.V. Kamath (CPB, Gen.) corrected the Law Minister by saying that the ‘pathetic faith’ in village communities was not due to any Metcalfe, but our faith in the village republics and our rural communities has grown and we have cherished it with all our heart. His (law minister) attitude yesterday was typical of the urban highbrow; and if that is going to be our attitude towards our rural folks, I can only say, ‘God save us’.... ‘Perhaps the fault lies with the composition of the Drafting Committee, among the members of which no one, with the exception of Sri Munshi, has taken any active part in the struggle for our country’s freedom’... ‘We learn how our polity in ancient times was securely built on village communities which were autonomous and self-contained; and that is why our civilisation has survived through all these ages’. He went on “The entire ethos of the proposed system was different from what was expected by the people …We demanded the music of Veena or Sitar, but here we have the music of an English Band. That was because our Constitution makers were educated that way. I do not blame them rather, I would blame those people, or those of us, who entrusted them with this kind of work”. (ibid, p.219) Dr. P.S. Deshmukh said that ‘I do not share the view that the past or our ancient civilisation is not worth utilising for the future building up of the Indian nation.’(ibid, p252) (70)

Perceptions and Perspectives Another retorted… “in spite of all that had been done (to village republics by the British rulers for their suppression, they have survived.. Therefore, village Panchayats (republics) is not to be condemned on that basis.”

Another prominent member, A C Guha said that ‘I am afraid the Drafting committee has gone beyond the terms. I am afraid the whole Constitution that has been laid before us has gone beyond the main principles laid down by the CA and demanded that ‘the village should be the real basis of (governing) machinery’. (ibid, p 255-56) Prof. S.L Saxena “I am certain that a very large majority of the House do not agree with this view of village republics. ..I personally feel that, if we bring these village Panchayats all the light and all the knowledge which the country and the world have gathered, they will become the most potent force for holding the country together..can become models of good self-government...the Constitution should provide for establishment of village republics” (ibid, p285) Shri G.B. Bhatt (Bombay) “ considering it as a whole I doubt seriously if it can at all be considered a Constitution which is Indian in spirit and in character. To forget or spurn the system of village Panchayats, which has lifted us up and which has sustained us so far and to declare boldly it has been deliberately spurned..well in all humility I lodge my protest against it. .If the village is to be discarded, someone can also boldly demand that this Constitution be discarded”, declared the member equally loud in protest (Vol. VII, p. 316).

K. Santhanam opined: ‘in the long run local autonomy for each village must constitute the basic framework for the future freedom of this country’ (p.264).

Chaudhry Ranbir Singh (Pb. Gen.) quoting Gandhi said that ‘whether in the political field or in the economic sphere decentralisation engenders a power which is much greater than other kinds of power. (ibid Vol.VII, p.288-89).

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Khap Shri Mahabir Tyagi said “What Gandhi ji thought about Swaraj? It must not be forgotten that Constituent Assembly is the fruit of the labour of those who worked day and night for about thirty years in their attempt to win freedom. ...it is they who should have given us this Constitution. They alone are competent to draw up the Constitution. ...but since this Assembly was constituted by the British, we cannot think of the other possibilities....But again we should see to it that the Gandhian outlook does not vanish from the country so soon after his death’ (ibid, p.360) B N Rau as Advisor and main architect of the drafting committee came out in defence and stated that ‘it was too late to make any attempt to change the basis of the Constitution which has gone so far.’

Bowing to sharp criticism, official side took to the only known stratagem available to them that there is no time left to redraft Constitution in light of the criticism from the members voicing opinion of the freedom struggle and promised a heaven in future. For the present, Article 40 was inserted to mollify the raised tempers. Jawahar lal Nehru said that ‘there is no permanence in constitutions, it will grow and appealed to pass it’ (ibid, 322-23)!

There was a another category that did not bite the bait: One of them Seth Damodar Swarup castigated it, saying that this Constitution ‘may even be the Magna Charta for capitalists of India, but so far as the poor and the tens of millions of toiling, starving and naked masses of India are concerned, there is nothing in it for them’. He quoted another member from Congress Shankarrao Deo to say that this Constitution is bound to be rejected, if a referendum is taken.

The framers of this constitution at best represent 14 per cent of the Indian masses. This is the bitter fact. (We) have failed to fulfil our duty for which we had assembled here due to various reasons and causes such as party politics… this (72)

Perceptions and Perspectives Constitution does not deserve to be passed. We should reject this Constitution (Vo. XI, p.694) “Today after having a full picture of the Constitution, I feel that I cannot make up my mind wholly to appreciate and welcome this Constitution”, K. Hanumathaiya declared at the last reading, (Vol.X.p.616) while T. Prakasham said:”I have been sitting here with a painful thought that we had been drifting, avoiding the soul of it as it were”(697) “The millions were ignored during British Raj and they were ignored in our country even after the British left and we also ignored them and we are proceeding with this Constitution” (ibid).

“I am afraid in this highly centralised Constitution of the Indian Republic there is possibility of there being apoplexy of the heart and paralysis at the ends”, warned Mr. Deo (732), while Kamlapati Tripathi reminded that “Everyone knows that effective power in the hands of the Centre can only be based on military strength and the concentration of military power is the sure road leading to the complete destruction of popular rights. This is historical truth. Our Constitution obviously presents this danger”(V.X, p863). Loknath Mishra said: “In this way we have made this irresponsible Constitution in the hope of giving responsible government to our people” (p.798).

Mahabir Tyagi (UP) pointed out another obscenity of the adopted mode and warned” ..I am most afraid of one aspect that democracy has created everywhere - of ‘professional politicians’. All democracies are run by ‘professional politicians’ and I am afraid that is the main cause of their failure, because such people begin to live on democracy. It becomes with them a profession. The statecraft becomes their only source of living. This is the bane of democracy...If this democracy (of ours) is also run by such persons who will have nothing to fall back upon and who live on ministries and on the membership of Parliament then this democracy is doomed. I am sure” (Vol. X, p.964) (73)

Khap On the promise that in future Constitution will grow to the desired goal of decentralised polity a member declared that the ‘dynamics of what is laid down may not allow the hope to materialise and argued that the wish for a healthy growth of the Constitution is misplaced. The dynamics of what has been released with the adoption of its philosophy will ultimately assert against the wish.’ The official view, however, prevailed in the CA on the intervention of leadership of the time, as was summed up by the advisor, BN Rau. By now, however, it is clear that the undertaking on behalf of the leadership proved to be a poor consolation. Mr. Deo proved prophetic and correct: the dynamics of what was released by the adoption of Constitution in 1949 asserted.

One aspect of the promise, however, did materialise; the Constitution of India did grow but in the opposite direction of what was desired then by the leaders of the ruling coalition. It did keep pace with the direction the Constitution virtually had laid and the members opposed; it debunked the majority of the people for whom members then pleaded. The danger inherent in providing a philosophical basis for individualism in the Constitution was not foreseen by anyone so seriously and hence not contested.

B. The Great Debate: CENTRALISED POLITY V/S NON-CENTRALISED POLITY: What was at stake in the long debate? Let us examine.

Stake was relevant and important for the very future of the nation. Once these basic questions were decided in favour of the super rich, people were dumped again in the dustbin of history uncared for with the state structure strengthened to care for the chosen ward. The people stood disinherited and dishonoured.

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Perceptions and Perspectives One fact is incontrovertible: the whole period of Freedom struggle was permeated with two basic issues. One, what will be the future mode of socio-economic system the country needs to adopt. Second, what would India need as its mode of governance after British rule is over?

Constituent Assembly debated and decided. On the result it was said: “I am afraid that they have made a wrong approach to the problem” summed up K.Santhanam forcefully (Vol.V.p.54). He was afraid that the overall structure would remain unchanged. It remained unchanged. ‘The whole structure is drawn on the lines of Government of India Act, 1935’, said Gokul Bhai Bhatt (Vol.VII, p.316). The long shadow of 1935 Act prevails till date. One may add to what G B Bhatt said that the 1935 Act was improved upon by making it compliant to Brahmanical uniformity when the tribal communities were brought under centralised power by crafty mechanism with an autonomous veneer.

The great irony of history is stalking now; those who voted for such an unchanged structure were of the same pedigree who is now asking rural India to change instead in tune with the adopted path in cunningness. For a moment we may look a bit back for slight wisdom to know what happened and with what cost to the majority.

During freedom struggle the village republic had become a symbol of revolt against the centralised polity i.e. State, against the formal system, which in the modern age has stripped the individual and rendered him/her defenceless against the ruthlessness of state that is wedded more to serve the minority super rich. Khap represents the non-centralised polity as a reliable alternative with a hoary past to rely upon.

‘The Little Republic” of which Khap is its extension, in much of Hindi zone and called in other areas with several titles, that is visualised as the only frame in which the ordinary people can be on their own, can feel and realise (75)

Khap their own potential and engender a milieu behoving the human society with family and its neighbouring community as its strength to stand by. The concept of Little Republic endured the spirit and inspired them to fight against a centralised system of governance which the British had thrust upon India to serve its colonial agenda.

One of its stalwarts had reminded that India lives in its villages. By saying this then he was stating an obvious truth and nonetheless important to remind the nation for its future to rely upon. Keeping fingers on pulse of the common man, Gandhi appreciated another truth of its social life, while the left leaders failed, about Village Republics as a living organism and effective model true to the spirit of Indian ethos for selfgovernance and dispute resolution.

“In the centralised society of today one bomb on the power plant is enough to extinguish all lights and there is no single lamp to light up darkness. But where many lamps burn with little oil in tiny mud pots, there will not be flood of light that dazzles but there will never be darkness’ said Shankarrao Deo from Congress benches in the CA (ibid Vol. X p. 694). But this was not to happen. There was regret, there was anguish on the point as to how and why that most vital ‘community practice’ was not in place where it ought to have been in that so-called document of destiny, the Constitution.

The ‘community practice’ had significance not only in the limited frame of life in Indian nation. It was the symbol of ‘other alternative’ which could salvage the human civilisation in peril, when corporate capital is out to strangle it with resolve to rely on centralised state power.

When it was stated by Manmohan Das that ‘unless and until our village people are educated, unless and until they become politically conscious...the village Panchayat system will do more harm than good.. and local influential classes will absorb to themselves all powers and privileges (Vol. (76)

Perceptions and Perspectives VII,p.308)’ Sarangdhar Das argued legitimately that it was based on a superficial view of rural life of those who ‘had lost contact with villages’. If there is ignorance in the villages it is ‘ignorance of English language and also our various written languages’ It has nothing to do with real life because as far as knowledge of nature and wisdom are concerned there is more wisdom and more knowledge in the villages than in our modern cities’. (Vol. VII, p.286).

Another member in CA said: “The excuse has been given that we are not yet ready, we would need greater experience, better education, and more wide-spread consciousness of political power amongst the masses as well as its responsibilities to be able to work such radical forms of democratic government”, they did not realise the perversity of this logic. “Had we agreed to such arguments in the past,...we should never, even now have obtained our independence and the right to self-government which is now our proud possession,” exclaimed K.T.Shah (Vol. X p.619).

Prakasham put the question straight when he declared that “The village republic which is proposed to be established and worked is not a bullock cart village republic...when we fill the whole country with these organisations... there will be no food famines..no cloth famine...these village republics will establish peace in our country”.(Vol.VII,p.522).

But sanity did not prevail and a centralised polity was adopted instead. There is one and the only one reason for this situation to prevail: ’because you are still unable to trust the people in full’ (ibid), which is indicative of a psyche of faith in the infallibility of the bureaucratic system.’ ‘Believe the system, disbelieve the People’ is their evergreen motto to follow!! And our wise men did it again to the sorrow of millions after millions!

This was the basic point at issue in the deliberations of (77)

Khap the Constituent Assembly. It was difficult for the leadership to face the logic and shrewdly relied upon the advice of Mr. B N Rau instead to adopt the faulty Draft Constitution with a promise in future. It proved fatal. Tragedy struck.

There is another aspect of Constitution that is relevant to the subject of scrutiny which the President of CA, Dr. Rajender Prasad tried to make while appealing members to adopt the draft. He said: Whatever the Constitution may or may not provide, the welfare of the country will depend upon the way in which the country is administered. That will depend upon the men who administer it. If the people who are elected, are capable and men of character and integrity, they would be able to make the best even of a defective Constitution. If they are lacking in these, the Constitution cannot help the country. After all, a Constitution like a machine is a lifeless thing. It acquires life because of the men who control it and operate it. 7 One of the few leaders at the top who mattered in shaping the future roadmap for the country Dr. Prasad was emphasising the nature of the constitution they were producing while consoling for the faith they had in the personal qualities of the leaders to run it, though now the effort seems to make the same document as something iconic.

One thing is sure: the Constitution was viewed as nothing perfect and sacrosanct by its framers as it is made out to be by this new class of mandarins, including the wise men of corporate media and academia.

Now, the protagonists of individual freedom are citing the same imperfect document to be so sacrosanct as to decry the Khaps on this very account! This is at least a very shallow basis to argue their case for demolishing the valuable institution like Khap. The truth about ‘rule of law’ is more ludicrous to argue against rural community practices.

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Perceptions and Perspectives Law is what the rulers decide and thrust on the unwilling people. Mostly they are ignorant about the law adopted in their name. To make such laws as litmus test is ludicrous and atrocious exercise indeed.

Emerging issues: The centralised system of governance so adopted has by now sapped out the energy of a young nation to its bones.

In the bargain it lost confidence and support of the people in matters governance and had to rely on its steel framed bureaucracy for all nation building activities. To suit the interests of a minority, Westminster system with highly centralised structures was adopted instead on the bidding of British and the aspirant big Indian capital.

Ostensibly, this minority became too apprehensive of participative democracy where people not only participate directly to discuss, analyse and decide on issues of selfgovernance but act as masters of its destiny, and do not depend upon representatives to speak for them through some forum provided by the state. Khap practice could have formed the essence of that little Republics which India one day stood proud of. The Constitution talks of democracy but circumscribed it to a forum of representatives to speak for the people instead, though Hind Swaraj was a favourite prime reader with such leaders for form sake.

Representative system was favoured instead by adapting the colonial Act of 1935 with a bureaucratic superstructure as was available from British. Freedom cannot mean anything else than recognition of the competence of people to navigate life according to their traditions and customs with their wisdom to innovate.

To talk about village Panchayats, as ordained by Article 40, less said the better. It took 47 years for village Panchayats to become part of the constitutional frame and much more to be on the ground, but not as unit of self-governance, like (79)

Khap little republics. Panchayats, even after finding place in the scheme of Article 243 under Part IX of the Constitution are not more than the lowest unit of administration. Similarly, when provisions of panchayats under this part were extended for tribal areas in 1996 it remained a passive piece of legislation. The provisions under Schedule V and VI to the Constitution are yet to be translated to the disadvantage of the tribals and none cares. Then, who is playing with the law of the land; rural India or those elites who are controlling commanding heights of the structure? Not the people by any means indeed. Such is the sanctity of law with them.

The dictum in jurisprudence that everything legal may not be legitimate and everything legitimate may not be legal is conveniently forgotten. It is the society which has to intervene on behalf of legitimacy to take it ahead from morass of the state. But at the time when rural India is the target all such fine principles are left to the dustbin. They are called upon to prove their fidelity at the alter of partisan laws. Such is the honesty of purpose with these gentlemen.

Theory teaches In conditions at present, the basic question of political science is to define nature of relation between society and the state. It is agreed in general that society takes precedence over the institution of state. In fact, it is understood that state is the servant and not the master of society. This is theory.

In practice, however, the state is the monster that has assumed the role of master of society with repressive power at its core, supplemented by an elaborate system of mental slavery, as organ of governance for obedience. Its education system is designed to serve accordingly. Educated class mostly has been acting to advance this cause blindly and faithfully as ordained by state. This is nothing less than perversity of theory as also cheating morality of principles.

The state, as its own creation has overtaken the society (80)

Perceptions and Perspectives for good or bad. This dichotomy between theory and practice of state is the fundamental question to resolve if man has to breathe in fresh air and make sense of a useful and serene life. Another facet of the situation is the limited span with a man as an individual, while the man in society is to think of a perspective with generations to come.

Currently, the society operates with two distinct types of structures. The primary one is the type of informal institutions it has evolved and perfected through a process spanning centuries of ‘hit and trial’ for growth. It is a continuous process never to end and perfection is always relative to time and space.

The second is the type of formal and contractual formation like state with a defined role and ordained power jurisdiction. The Principle of Eminent Domain is a later invention by a colonial state, later adopted by every government in the service of capital and its owners. This perversion of theory by deceit is designed to clothe legitimacy and uncouth possessions by expropriation.

This principle of eminent domain has nothing to do with any concept of orderly behaviour to serve humanity, but for a particular or sectarian object. It is a transgression of political mandate of the master by its servant and cannot be reconciled for obedience. It is extraneous and incongruent extension of delegated authority. The illegitimate usurpation of power by state for itself has to go and deficiency made up so caused to the common good. The British rulers did it to colonial India and Independent India cannot go on enjoying sinful gains from the service of an illegitimate child and claim seat on high table in the comity of free nations at the same time.

C. Feudal and Patriarchy Let us see another paint-brush that provides substance to malign Khap and is in frequent use. There are two words from western lexicon that go wild to provide legitimacy to (81)

Khap women issues of whatever worth and are gleefully used by anyone and everyone who is out to show off his progressive credentials, howsoever week and a supporter of ‘feminist movement’ whatever it may denote in the country today.

One of two is ‘feudal’ in the world of capitalist relations that presently permeates every walk of life dominated by money power. The other is ‘patriarchy’ that is used more to malign man in relation to woman when virtually both have been reduced to the status of slave by highly organised corporate capital for mere survival, barring a small number.

This is the condition even of those who stretch their necks out with relatively small amount of capital in their pockets and dream to be independent in profession.

Credit goes to Indian leftists to popularise these terms, feudal and patriarchy in political discourse for such negative features of gone by era dubbed as regressive in relation to industrial-commercial mode with capital in command holding family farming synonimous to feudalism.

These words are standard epithets for abuse also by leftists to denounce opponents, if no other argument works.

Situation has come to a pass that feudal is the word of easy choice to use by any Tom, Dick and Harry who happens to describe any family head in rural India on any account. In relation to Khap, feudal is the word of choice while patriarchy works magically, if the issue relates to woman. It seeks a rift artificially between male and female of 80% composite families on the bidding of foreign and native financiers and raking up secondary issue of contest to shut out the main issue of their lives to save a wretched system! In both cases, need to analyse the issue objectively vanishes at ease. Such is the level of prejudice; a big achievement for leftist movement in India indeed but to serve capital, not labour.

It is doubtful if practitioners of this terminology really understand the essence that is attached to it in political (82)

Perceptions and Perspectives economy. In political economy these terms denote a definite relationship of a socio-economic life of yester years, largely in West, which hardly find any tangible place at the beginning of 21st century even in the field of culture any more, anywhere in the world, except in some dark corner.

Still, many seem to feel comfortable with this terminology of bygone period for fancy sake; otherwise it carries no substantial meaning now, unless one intends to rebuke family relationship and/or produce a psyche of an oppressed among women in general with ulterior motives, like having permanent chasm between the two to win over female on the side of an anarchic life style in sinful pursuits.

See the result: times seem to have moved decisively in their favour due to this campaign. Even the institution of marriage has been largely converted now into a ladder of convenience for career or income by a good chunk of young population. A keep is now in a live-in relation, prostitutes are proudly called sex workers, chattel is a girl friend, having no burden of social obligation to procreate, world over including India. A satisfying gain for modernity indeed!

Let anyone having a modicum of understanding the modus operandi in an Indian family of normal standard answer; can it survive for a day if its elders conduct like a feudal, whereas family as an institution in India has a reputation to have survived marauding forces in history for centuries? Only recently the ‘progressive’ capitalists have succeeded to cut at its roots to the despair of many. Soviet Union or China did not benefit from its dispersal either.

This fancy for the word feudal betrays a low level of understanding about the other side of feudal period in history. It was in this period that community assertion emerged with practices which gave meaning to social content and it remained immune from the depravity of lords, in matters love or sex to name one.

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Khap There is no doubt that break up of family with males and females apart will make hell of it. Does not anarchy will prevail then on its ruin? Soviet Russia and China suffered defeat in building a new society short of family.

Patriarchy is an epithet which is very popular these days with all supporters of feminism. It has a dual intent to depict the society into male-female divide firstly to induct an alien cultural mode in India and demolish the family institution for a specific purpose to fulfil. It is curious that these critics do not plead for matriarchy either to replace it. They champion individualism instead citing human/ fundamental rights of individual against males in the family.

First, it was a fight for these rights against autocracy i.e state in favour of citizens. How the fight is diverted now against male in the family leaving state oppression free? Who benefitted from this diversion, if not the rulers?

Secondlt, landlord versus serf relationship of feudal variety is now master-servant relationship of capitalist mode almost in every field of human activity and money has replaced human values at the centre of relations by this march of events. To find patriarchy between a capitalist husband and a capitalist wife is creativity in mischief.

By the way, what is feudal and serf relationship in the practice of Khap? None has come out to detail the accusation on this account. Merely epithets go wild to prejudice the mind of commoners. During the debate in media nothing of the type ever was specified, except that elders dominate.

D. Conventions, Traditions and Customs The accusation of an allergic mode from crusaders given expression by corporate media in current campaign for over five years by now against Khap for following conventions, traditions and customs that bind rural way of life as a code sounds more biased that is steeped in prejudice than logic.

Capitalists too have their customs to follow.

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Perceptions and Perspectives To present customs and traditions, ipso fact, good or bad is mischievously flogging a wrong horse. Each category of era, be it farming or commercial-industrial avocation has its own distinct set of customs and traditions for smooth delivery. In fact, urban areas also go with their own customs and traditions to keep their mode of life in motion. When rural people are asked to leave traditions and customs for modern life, in fact, they are asked to replace one with the other. Hatred is only to conventions, customs of rural life.

Customs with village India ipso facto do not make it feudal. It is for the society to decide the question of rationality and not any messiah on its behalf. Let no one beat rural India on this account irrationally. Khap functions with its own unwritten code. It does not make it uncontrolled bull.

Conventions, traditions and customs do not come down from the blue; these are the tools of respective mode of life based on method of subsistence in each era. When traditions and customs based on agricultural life in rural India are flogged as despicable, feudal, anti-national and antidevelopment, the message is clearly for the commercialindustrial one to take over, even if the object remains under cover for deception. The important point to consider is as to how it affects the social growth for the majority.

E. Bhaichara or Money Relation

The most intriguing aspect of this campaign against Khaps and Gotra Khaps is the ridicule these elites heap on the concept of ‘Bhaichara’. A myth is flaunted around that Bhaichara is a worthless concept for a modern world of their belief, only because it comes as a roadblock in the use of free sex to turn female like a tool of sex-based industries? They seem to be contented with money relationship instead.

Bhaichara is a close relationship of neighbourhood as brothers and sisters through blood or deemed, like any other, defined and practised as a natural right in villages. It is as it (85)

Khap should be. None other can define it for them and thrust it on others that would rob it of its natural content. At present, Bhaichara is in contest with another type of relationship in master-servant. Bhaichara is in rural setting with a definite connotation that has become a red rag with those forces who are spearheading a crusade to make capitalist relationship of master-servant irretrievably dominating for the triumph of their mode of production and distribution in the society.

While equality is the soul of Bhaichara, subordination is the essence with master-servant relationship where money rules.

Yes, Bhaichara is irrelevant and dispensable for a world having money/capital as its first God to live by. There is nothing unexpected in this abnormal situation where India is involved in a desperate contest between one culture of family-labour based agriculture mainly represented by rural India and individual-labour based industrial culture of immigrants and urban India for dominance. While industrial culture loves leg-pulling and cut-throat market instincts, rural life survives on Bhaichara, co-sharing and cooperation!

Two are incompatibles. This is the truth of the situation.

Is it open for urbanite elite to use state power and force their way of life and values on the rural folks? Perhaps, they are suffering from arrogance par excellence on this aspect.

They can have no such claim of righteousness either. Rural India lives its own life on honest labour as a birth right. This non-negotiable right Bhaichara is not endowed by anyone who can exercise prerogative to abolish it at wish. If change is required, it is for them to evolve it in answer to the call.

In nutshell, the present crusade against society is a war between these two distinct cultures that feverishly contest for supremacy in India. It is a war not of choice with rural society but thrust upon it by the evil forces of industrial culture out to dominate the sky.

Let analysis continue...

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Perceptions and Perspectives

9

Charges Examined

It is by now clear that rural way of life and its Khap system are under severe attack for wrong reasons and for unworthy cause to serve. It is also known that the current tirade came in the backdrop of so-called honour killings that is the effect of a definite but sponsored culture to serve a sinister cause. You cannot punish the effect leaving out perpetrators of the cause intact.

It would be instructive if the cause that led to the effect in honour killings is examined dispassionately and honestly in the interest of society and its future to eliminate the crime as well as the real hands that feed it. If abetment to a killing is a penal offence, all those who have caused this crime to occur at a scale unknown in past history are to answer the charge of culpability today or tomorrow without fail.

Those who are sponsoring revolt against parents for freedom to have sex free from encumbrances, except payment in cash or kind, freedom of choice in selecting partner in sex, love marriage and the like by the immature youngsters and adolescents to commit crime like elopement are also then liable for abetment and conspiracy in the first instance in matters of honour killings. However, the abettors themselves are posing themselves as champions against honour killings by calling Khaps killers instead and subtly shifting the blame on them as a self defence mechanism!

Let it be understood that to kill siblings or kin by parents and/or guardians is not a normal human fad or so easy a task in normal circumstances. Parents are not brutes to their (87)

Khap children, unless or otherwise abnormality of highest order prevails. Let it be clear that Gotra Khaps are extended guardians, otherwise community or biradari loses its meaning to assemble at call. They are not the cause for such killings; such killings are the result of a cause abetted by vested interests to push events and serve their economic gains.

‘Honour Killing’ or Defensive Reaction By now, the evil seed has bloomed into a jungle of weeds. It has taken the rural families in its grip for a fatal plunge. Almost every family is in war with itself where its young, more so educated one, are out to pull rag for the worst and those who had ventured in this project with the seed are happy over their diligent efforts. Killing of siblings and parents as adversaries has taken the form of an unending strife putting village life in turmoil.

For the media, these were ‘honour ’ killings or retribution for a perceived right for free sex. For parents it is a case of loosening family cohesion forever while simultaneously betraying community mores by the concerned family, giving a fatal blow to the system of relationships that provides life sustaining conditions for them. For the family the happening was like death for loosing its rightful place in the comity of common interests in relationship where it felt threatened for its existence, cutting at the roots of social behaviour that had invited this exceptional punishment in despair to their own daughter or son against deliberate defiance so that others in line may not suffer for generations to come.

In consequence, they court for themselves the prescribed sentence for a criminal act of murder happily, since they know well that such mores provide sustenance for the family every moment as important as free air living in a web of relationships with neighbourhood community.

For the westernised intellectuals, these murders are gross violations of a right to life of adult individuals, while for (88)

Perceptions and Perspectives parents the violators of community mores were under obligations with no right to block future of others - a defensive action taken in desperation. Rights go with obligations, according to their rustic wisdom and exhibit differences in perception of both sides are wide.

Abettors go scot free Forces that have ignited the fire and fanned war like situation through a concerted campaign for perceived rights of such youths must bear responsibility to abet fatalities and cause ‘honour’ killings that are abhorrent in nature. Of late, media barons on behalf of corporate capital have incited the rural youth to embark upon such a course of ruin, but go scot free of the charge of inciting it, being a powerful party.

The war of attrition between these two cultures right within the families is raging for supremacy where educated youths of the family are the warriors of individualism, duly indoctrinated and supported by forces of the propertied class in urban India, leading a fight to overturn its culture for good.

The reaction by Khap Panchayats or by the family relations to stem this rot in rural society that is besieged for a sponsored change in its ethos is also related to this sponsored cause. In fact, ‘honour’ killings have come in the wake of serious provocations, with a definite background, as an action undertaken in self-defence by families when they felt threatened to the extent of extinction. This sense of threat becomes more pronounced when the state has turned abettor in the service of corporate capital, which was however, supposed to act in favour of society.

Remember, the present campaign against rural way of life in general and Khap in particular is a cover fire on behalf of Indian state establishment as it is moving now sufficiently fast towards clearing the path, overtly and covertly, in service of money bags to make sex entertainment hassle free and without any inhibition on demand.

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Khap The uneasiness over this bid in rural areas of the country was not difficult to feel, but when elite club hit at the raw nerve on a matter of such sensitivity, tremor is the result.

The motive was apparent when the elites started hitting at the very concept of Bhaichara prevalent in rural society. There was no ambiguity left on their part what they want to achieve in this campaign for possession. Once the concept of bhaichara is gone every family is open for establishing sexual relations, for money or otherwise as free entertainment, which the crusaders want when their production system requires new venues to earn super profits through industries based on male/female sex (almost twent-five at present, including surrogacy where a poor woman is asked to bear children for others on money as her means to survive). This is the liberation of woman capitalism assures!

The allegation that rural population is wary of change has a sinister connotation; it not only belies Indian history but virtually requires to make sex available on demand and is stubbornly sticking to an outworn concept of shame and honour over such affairs, finding expression in Khap.

When urban India can flourish without this concept of Bhaichara, where is the necessity for rural folks to cling to it and loose the race for easy riches, this elite club asks in rage.

Again, why they are so keen for rural folks to earn easy money out of sin, when they have expropriated rural India to the bones during last six decades with the active connivance of state establishment? There is No answer.

The logic is perverse and deceitful. It is a bad counsel; worth a dustbin. The logic has come to justify the concept of freedom of choice, more particularly in context of sexual depravity which they are sponsoring, without any sense of shame or remorse and are asking rural India also to change for this sinful living in dancing bars, night clubs without hesitation and be modern like them. Finding support from Supreme Court, the Executive and Law commission on Khap, (90)

Perceptions and Perspectives these jehadist elements are bold enough now to demand the head, heart and soul as also its will to live in dignity from rural India. The alignment of forces is clear to the bare eye.

Khap system is sought to be extinguished to avert any worthwhile challenge to a rule of capitalist dispensation in this land of promise without contest for which free sex is being utilised as a weapon to demolish a civilisation that takes pride in its rich tradition of Bhaichara.

Let there be no misunderstanding; the crusaders against Khap are not so much keen to modernise rural India, they want to keep rural population in penury as its reserve army of service-seekers for its service sector at pittance rate of entitlements. It has sucked rural India of its resources during past seven decades where hunger and want rule, while cities shine at the cost of rural population.

In fact, it is the present day political economy of the rulers that works behind the present tirade against rural areas in the name of fighting ‘Talibani, casteist and feudal’ Khap and ‘conservative’ Bhaichara! Their interest is to take it over completely and convert its bountiful population as dutiful servants for ever.

It is also alleged by this resourceful urbanite club of elites that rural folks are anti-national in conduct, having a potentiality to frighten FDI in the country away by its feudal and conservative way of life. How? Apparently, by not allowing its females to roam about in the market for free sex as urban females do of upper crust to these immigrant foreigners on jaunts here to earn profit and enjoy oriental sex like British colonialists used to do in their hey days as rulers? No, gentlemen, if ever you are! Rural India is not for sale nor ready to bargain the dignity of its sexuality.

We know they have their bar culture, if at all it is culture.

Urbanites may remain content with their sexual mores and riches. Rural India may not like such a change. We also know (91)

Khap it was FDI from East India Company once that had made this great nation crawl and they had their local collaborators in the process. The same type of elements are at the game again. They are evaluating FDI more important than its citizens, their future and dignity, asking them to renounce their culture for owners of foreign money.

If foreigners want to invest here for profit, let it be on our conditions and not by fulfilling their base desires.

Rural India fears change, the allegation goes. But what change, gentlemen? They are asking the rural girls to come out from the shadows of their parents by sponsoring freedom of choice, but why? It is only because they need girls to be available for ‘cat walks’ to happen without any inhibition for the delight of those who have invested money in that industry. This is the freedom you are labouring for, gentlemen. Is it not? Be forthright in your intentions.

Let there be clarity on one point. None can blame rural India for its forced poverty of over sixty years. None in senses can blame it for its economic distress. Forget about fiction characters from Munshi Prem Chand, none can compete rural India for hard labour and honesty of purpose. Still it is reeking in poverty. Rural India stands highly expropriated in independent India, more than what British did in their times. Give an ear to the facts, if you dare to know the extent of loot on this account that made it pauper.

The Change and Sponsored Change Rural India stands accused to be a cesspool of conservative and caste prejudices with instinct not to change.

The charge is being repeated ad nauseam, since November, 1948 by all and sundry with glee. But to whose benefit? This aspect of the question is as important as the original one lest vested interests go scot free of the loop. Peasantry has proved its grit for innovations to improve its mode of operation.

Nonetheless, the question may again be looked into afresh.

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Perceptions and Perspectives Yes, rural India must change as others are changing.

There is no point in marking times; if one marks time unnecessarily, time will consume him/her in course. Marking time is important sometimes for a leap though. The pointless wait also is no option for any one in hope for a bright future.

Agreed, and without reservations. However, one point of clarity must prevail. What change?

Without clarity about the nature of change, plunge for it sounds a deliberate trap for sure disaster. The country once stood cheated previously at a crucial point in its modern history when a similar ambiguity was used.

Gandhi ji was reluctant to answer straight a query from Bhagat Singh and his friends about the course country will take after independence under his leadership. It was sidetracked by saying that the question is untimely. Events later proved that apprehension of Bhagat Singh was genuine. The country was taken over by exploiters and people stood cheated as he had apprehended for good reason.

So, caution is necessary on the question of change. On a premise that villages are cesspool of ignorance representing dark ages of history, averse to change and Khaps are its bulwark of conservative forces, not allowing it to modernise, a question nags. Change in whose interest?

It would benefit to remember that this allegation against rural sector is not new; the campaign started well in the beginning of the new innings. It was levelled in 1948. It is again there on the table. A reasonable explanation is required.

The nature of change is as important a question as the will to change for better. Change per se is no change for life.

Change must satisfy the future. One change is like water flows in a stream for renewal, for keeping itself alive and kicking. The other change is to turn the bubbling stream into a stinking drain for industrial residue.

Change is essential in times of need for a society/ (93)

Khap community to survive. Perhaps, no one will dispute this too.

But a change against the future of a heavy majority of the people is no change. India itself has much changed after 1947.

Rural population too has changed. One change was to occur in natural course of history as it has been doing in the past, even during the British period, despite merciless expropriation by the foreign rulers. As an independent nation India has changed a lot too.

During this journey of over six decades after independence, the change has benefitted to some and ruined the majority others. Why? It is not a secret that a minuscule but pungently arrogant section of population is now assertive of its existence as a powerful bull in the country’s precincts.

Its trajectory is the same that took shape during British rule surviving on borrowed privileges from the rulers; it grew at the cost of working population with the grace of state power.

Major section of them gets paid out of public money for playing cards in government offices while lording over citizenry who happen to be at their doors for begging mercy of one kind or the other in need or get largesse for expropriating others. Their riches are mostly from sin.

By misusing the official patronage during the last six decades, these elites have now attained the renewed stature of a fortune with no parallel. These are the main stay of status quo now acting as a powerful bulwark of reaction in the country who plead for a close proximity with imperial aspirations and asking rural India to get out of their way for good or be ready being kicked out. A change they aspire.

The question about the nature of change is more relevant when the Indian economy is made to advance with zero growth in employment and easy takeover of its natural resources in land, forests, water and mines with the peasantry to serve the rich of posh colonies, turning this vast section as pauper fit for Jhuggies in these urban centres of sin, as its srvice sector on paltry wage.

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Perceptions and Perspectives Rural India is now asked to accept the fresh position of a facilitating server in the streets while its able-bodied daughters to serve the frayed nerves in entertainment industry at command, enjoying five-star comfort for a change in a rugged and dreary life! It is out to advise rural population for accepting this change peacefully, under its benign law and order to bet, expressing faith in a Constitution that makes it possible in a free country and where freedom of choice for sex relations is the new mantra as a sure path for fame and riches, with of course hazards of a profession to bear.

If such conditions are acceptable, riches go aplenty in the proposed dispensation of slavery of new type that the slogan of change implies. The only pre-requisite is to forget about the good old frame of human relations without any sense of loss and regret. Then enjoy as the other club members are doing. Here lies the choice, gentlemen. Grab it if it suits your taste and temper.

With such a pre-decided frame from a hopeless but powerful minority to play hanka to hunt such a majority of its citizens with a natural right to exercise its will, the proposed change is no change but a retrograde prescription for slavery to the rich. To follow such a path of destruction is nothing but a blindness that leads to hell. Simply because this minority terms it as a change cannot be accepted.

Any such change that props individualism and destroys family, community, neighbourhood Bhaichara with resourceless existence is bound to affect the future of this country, destroying its rhythm irretrievably. No sensible person can support such a path to ruin and degradation unbound.

Such a direction of change is definitely to the disadvantage of rural population, living and surviving on family farming with allied mode of production. Balancesheet of this change since 1947 is disheartening and cannot evoke an iota of fresh confidence in its intentions.

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Khap The Chosen Path: Anti-national, Anti-people There is no reason to believe that the change which has been thrust upon this country during these six decades after 1947 on plain account is worth aspiring. Except this elite club there is no beneficiary who can claim peace and prosperity of a kind they had a dream to achieve and hence cannot be a point of celebration by them. Rural India is one such sufferer at the hands of destiny, much like Red Indians in America of thirties of the last century. (Read: Grapes of wrath) The nation was robbed of the opportunity on this count and protests were diplomatically side tracked with fatal consequences for the future of the country. Weakness lies here. Those in the Constituent Assembly who pleaded for rural India found themselves helpless in the end.

Compromise, did not work.

Western prescription prevailed in the final draft of Constitution and rural India was given a short shrift with clever but clumsy subterfuges to assuage wounded tempers.

Community and family were out and the individual found its place instead as a basic unit of its care. It suited the new masters if society dissolves and hapless individual rests on its mercy with no reservation.

By now, the arrogant elites stand charged with a historic crime against almost 80% of Indian people. This current crusade is the final assault to demolish it by roots and branches. See what the compromise meant to the people.

Constitution is flouted more by protagonists Fact is glaring: mode of development imposed upon the country went against many specific articles in the Constitution promising a just order, which they themselves had adopted in 1949 to a great hahulla of self praise over this achievement; rather, proving Dr. Rajinder Prasad correct.

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Perceptions and Perspectives The same state structure that the British had devised to rule over Indians for greed, has worked the same way after 1947 with little change despite the new Constitution!

Members after members in the Constituent Assembly were critical for wrong prescriptions. See again, to be brief, what the Article 38 Indian Constitution said: (1) The state shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all institutions of the national life.

(2) The state shall, in particular, strive to minimise the inequalities in income and endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different avocations.

Article 39 stipulates that: The state shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing (a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood (b) that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good; (c) that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment; (d) ...... that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited strength to age or strength (f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

Article 40 ordains that the state shall take steps to organise village Panchayats and endow them with such (97)

Khap powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.

Though these provisions so made were a mere caricature what the aspirations of the people had demanded of a free country, what was reluctantly conceded actually translated into a farce. No comment is necessary than to say that the provisions so described are observed more in breach.

By design, the concentration of wealth in the hands of few, despite Constitutional directives to the contrary, has grown at tremendous speed while the inequality in society is at unprecedented scale as a result of a deliberate planning to Americanise Indian society. The share in national wealth for rural India was 63 % in 1952. It has reduced to mere 14.6% in the year 2010 and is scheduled to be reduced to 6% by the year 2020 on design going down by 1% of the GDP every year. What there remains of the promise in the Constitution?

Not much in substance to demand unalloyed allegiance for such a structure indeed.

A killing quote: “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64" asked the Beatles in the song “When I’m Sixty-Four.”

Like the average age of its ruling elite, today India is over 64 years old as an independent nation, and its people are asking their government both questions. The answer is a resounding, No. The politicians do not need the people to stay in power, thanks to the easily manipulated electoral process it invented. Nor will the state feed them equitably despite politically expedient promises to do so.

Market forces playing havoc The issue had come into sharp focus when the country was made to crawl before the market forces and the super rich started playing their game unchecked. It is the market that teaches man to be selfish, makes stealing and treachery (98)

Perceptions and Perspectives as its art to excel. Present day world is what has been made to be. Market is no friend to man or woman. It dehumanises man, no less woman. The system too loses its sense of proportion and priority. At times, corruption can become an issue with it rather than the issue of farmers dying in lakhs.

Remember, British Parliament was sensitive enough in nineteenth century when it took due notice of famines and deaths of Indian farmers, all because of its own policies; but now in 21st century the Parliament of independent India feels no obligation towards farmers killing themselves all because of its own policies of internal expropriation and foreign prescriptions that pauperised rural India.

Moreover, it is not the market of Adam Smith or Ricardo period presently. Market is no free game now. It is controlled, contrived and manipulated by the super rich, world over.

Those who openly declared their intention to go for market forces in 1991 in India knew this bare truth. Still, they marketed it without least care for the consequences to its citizens, barring a handful of super rich.

There is another law. The market forces require capitalising everything in its reach, including human values and emotions. Commoditisation of anything and everything in human relations too for the benefit of super-profit is inherent in the game. Still it was opted deliberately, with little or no mind for social deficit.

The political elite have contributed hugely to bring the country to this stage when everyone is scared of its future.

Poverty is a factor, and the state has used it to keep itself rich and the people poor. It gave Indians a delusion of being independent of state benevolence and good economics would minimize the role of bad politics.

Moral corruption in policymaking and its ideology, disguised in calls for “inclusive growth” and “welfare” schemes, has atrophied our muscles at 64, making us less (99)

Khap attractive as a model for the world to follow. Loving us even less are our corporate houses, which are taking their businesses and their charitable impulses abroad. Mahindra, Ambani, Narayana Murthy, Nilekani, and such others became super rich over night at the cost of hunger and suicides of farmers thanks to the ‘reforms’ of dubious character to have riches enough for donating millions to Harvard, Yale, Cornell and Penn State universities that hardly need money, but where they believe it will be a better business. So, their patriotism vanishes the moment they are asked to behave or if their profit reduces by a mere paisa.

Fruits of development: How is India Doing As per Human Development Report, India languishes at 126th level out of 177 countries at the age of 64 years. The International Food Policy Research Institute’s Global Hunger Index ranks India 94th out of 118 countries surveyed. The World Food Programme estimates that over half of our children suffer from severe or moderate malnourishment.

Sixty seven out of 1000 thousand children born in India die before the age of five. Despite a national policy for compulsory primary education, less than 50 per cent of children have access to proper education.

Even these appalling numbers are often generous figures, quite far from the truth! Director of the UN Research Institute for Social Development says that the Indian government’s claims of poverty reduction are not reliable; he notes “...Indian data is always controversial”. Professor Brij Kothari of IIM Ahmadabad maintains that the 65.4 percent literacy rate published by the 2001 census is highly exaggerated, and not based on proper evaluation of the children’s ability to read and write. Millions of those classified as ‘literate’ cannot actually read, his study found.

This is official data of achievement. And this modern India of the elites for which rural India is asked to bend in obedience and accept the future of this make.

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Perceptions and Perspectives On the basis of the National Sample Survey data on calorie intake for 1999-2000, Professor Utsa Patnaik found that 70 per cent of the Indian population was at or below the poverty line fixed by the Planning Commission in 1979 having 2400 calories per person per day. She also calculated that an average family of five was consuming at least 200 kg of grain less each year than 50 years ago. Food grains are available, but the poor do not have the money to purchase their requirement. Such is the story of development for common man during these last 64 years of market benevolence from the stable of renound economist in power.

The World Bank’s own estimate of poverty in 2007 has been radically revised by new cost of living data which draws the new poverty line at 1.25 dollars at 2005 purchasing power parity. On this basis 41.6 per cent of India’s population - or 456 million people live below the poverty line. This is about one third of world’s poor population. Even this World Bank data is an underestimate because it does not adequately cover the rural areas where the vast majority of poor live.

The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector in its report, entitled Report on the Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganised Sector says that over 394.9 million workers (86 % of working population) belong to the unorganised sector and work under “utterly deplorable” conditions with “extremely few livelihood options”.

The Commission’s data is based on National Sample Survey (NSS) studies. Going by its statistics, it was found that while 235 million people are in a position to take care of themselves, an unbelievable 836 million people, or 77 per cent of the population, require assistance from state or any other social security network for mere survival. It is the picture after over six decades of ‘development’ for which sacrifice from the workingmen is being asked for with no question raised to the intention of this development.

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Khap Objective criteria needed According to Multidimensional Poverty Indicators developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative and applied by the Human Development Index (HDI) 2010, the proportion of BPL families in India is 55.4 per cent of the population. Bihar fares poorest, with 61.4 per cent of the people below the poverty line, while Kerala has the lowest fraction of BPL people - 40.9 per cent. Inequality has doubled during last twenty years. It has created 61 billionaires with combined wealth of $ 250 billion or 100 richest Indians owning equivalent to one-fourth of its GDP and 80 % population with 20 rupees or less per day to depend upon for bare survival after two decades of globalisation spree.

To the utter delight of western and eastern corporations there is “a huge market being created for the white goods and automobile makers and huge demand for the products” says Director of the Centre for Macro Consumer Research (Economic Times) boosted by the state what Global Research defines through an ‘economic system that ensures the flow of wealth to go upwards via what academic David Harvey calls ‘accumulation by dispossession’ and ensuring a congenial law and (dis)order at the same time.

For the opportunity to live in dignity, less said the better.

Almost 80% of population has been written off register of rulers now; for them about 20% of population remains as real India to its care. The whole planning process and executive function works for this minority percentage.

The welfare schemes for the rest in fact are mere lollipop that too under compulsions of electoral politics with little to ameliorate the pangs of large scale deprivation ever let loose by its liberal policies for the benefit of big fishes - both Indian and foreign. Food Security Act, 2013 is the latet eloquent testimony where Indian state is faced to the wrath of poverty despite development while pushing ahead its policy of robbing poor to pay the rich under its commitments to WTO. (102)

Perceptions and Perspectives The level of mental and physical servility can be gauged from the fact that Indian leadership had meekly accepted the advice to India from American representative at the conclave that met to finalise the agreement on WTO in 1994, to plan/work only for 20 % of real India. And media duly forgot to raise questions over such servility to American dictates that proved disastrous for Indian masses.

Again, when Indian rulers had launched its march to liberalise economy for the benefit of corporate capital, the corporate media conveniently forgot to remind the leaders of Constitutional provisions, violation of which has ruined these 80% of population in respect of little chance they had to find opportunity for a survival in a wild world of sharks.

This is perhaps enough to recount about the respect ruling establishment has about Constitution of the land while it is extra vigilant in asking rural India to obey it on Khap, at the cost of their very life. The reason for this duplicity is not difficult to decipher though. Perhaps, dutifully, media is working to keep a lid on its master’s deeds.

Lies and damn lies (2) Media was eloquent and alleged that Khap is a Jat institution. It did not tell the basis of the charge. Let us examine: To gain control of the situation and succeed, the current crusade against Khaps is crude enough to sow seeds of discord and disruption in the rural camp, since it fears unity of the adversary most. Quite understandable. But it surprised many in the profession when all of a sudden the powerful section of media, disregarding its own code not to help flaring up caste, regional and religious divide, so shamelessly resorted to fanning caste prejudice by describing Khap as a Jat institution without any basis and continued hammering repeatedly that it is confined only to North India.

It is not possible to whip up caste and regional passions without some overt or covert purpose. Which are the forces (103)

Khap that are behind this game of ‘divide and rule’? And who are its beneficiaries? Sequence of events is a better guide.

Rulers always survive by this divisive game, sages say.

But there is a specific background behind Indian tragedy. It lies in its late entry in the race for capitalist dream to translate where majority is destined to serve minority and the state is wedded to manipulate governance for the rich.

The story starts fresh from 1947 with realigned political forces contending for capturing/sharing newly gained state power, circumscribed by the dynamics of an electoral game based on adult suffrage. First was the stage when these forces contended to win support of people on the strength of respective policies, governance, programmes, deliverance and a manipulated ideology of dubious value to society.

The second stage opened soon after sheen of the first peeled off and got a serious beating when contending parties lost credibility for their commitment to proclaimed principles and were too short on translation with mastery on manipulation of facts but profilgate on promises, while different limbs of administration lost their posture of relative neutrality completely and collapsed to deliver, except on push by money power. The rule of law survived where law was subordinate to money power and rule became nothing but order of oppression. It gave rise to a different channel.

Caste polarisation In given circumstances of political bankruptcy caste polarisation became the rule. While common man/woman increasingly became isolated and found all social security net gone with slow collapse of family/community cohesion because of deliberate policy of neutralising these social institutions by state under its economic commitments, political parties resorted to strike bargain with ‘social engineering’ for electoral gain. This paved way for caste polarisation as a matter of survival for these partes.

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Perceptions and Perspectives The adversaries of Khap knew well that the practice is common to all communities for resolving their issues amicably since ages everywhere and any attack on it may invite serious challenge from all. They also knew that the level of caste animosity against each other is hyperactive in India due to a planned polarisation for electoral politics.

By projecting this campaign against Jats, the media apparently sought to frighten down expected protests from other communities for supporting Khap practice and leaving Jats alone to fight the onslaught. It was the ‘divide and win’ strategy, well thought out and planned to details.

So, the arguments and vehemence in the media as well as the political establishment, including NGO sector reflected a remarkable similarity. When entertainment industry, especially film industry entered the campaign to supplement it, cat was out of bag literally.

Unfortunately for rural India, the other communities tolerated the present crusade against Jats as such and kept themselves aloof from protest. They could not grasp the common danger inherent in the campaign. In consequence, the establishment found new zeal to interfere in life of the communities, which both law of the land and practice so far do not allow it to do.

Law Commission was harnessed to propose curtailment and suppression of natural rights of communities/citizens in the name of taming Khap with no protest from any other quarter than Jats. The monster however worked to plan and to their entire satisfaction! A known strategy of all the crooked to beat the victims to blue, indeed worked for a while to its advantage. Events on record tell this story.

It was also alleged that the problem of khap is confined merely to certain areas in north India. Thereby, the idea was to create a feeling that its appeal is limited to a small area while what these wise men are pleading about relates to the (105)

Khap advantage of majority areas. Later, same media conceded that incidents of honour killing do occur in MP, Maharashtra and deep in South as also in other communities with the same intensity against depraved behaviour on flirt sex.

(3) About its feudal parentage less said the better. Who is a Lord and who is a Serf in Khap? It shows only the ignorance or prejudice or both about Khaps. Yes, there are elders in khap to help and guide the deliberations. Still they are not like advocates in the court to plead on the strength of a contract. None can dispute this. Then, what is wrong if elders are there in an assembly to resolve issues/ dispute among kin or a Bhaichara conclave? Only senile can object.

(4) To fight out Bhaichara, reason exists: content that their campaign for free love has taken roots among rural youth by now courtesy their intense work of last two decades, corporate capital has come to conclude that the community feeling among rural people is the hurdle to move ahead in taking over rural economy. They are out to extinguish the very defence mechanism of rural population. Khaps have come to be the first target to strike at.

(5) The charge that rural India is conservative in character and a hurdle in the path of modern India is true if progress means hassle free sex for riches. It is also alleged that Khap is anti-development on the plea that country needs more foreign money for investment (FDI) and khaps frighten the guests with their conservative attitude on sex.

This argument carried by media while fighting Khap practice in rural areas is astounding to say it mildly: do they intend to say that for development such foreign guests with money in pockets have to be provided freely available sex in addition to the fabulous profit through expropriation? Do they want to trade Indian females for riches? Who needs such development at the cost of dignity? It is a shameless advocacy for prostitution. Do these gentlemen want to say that globalisation of economy means this change too?

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Perceptions and Perspectives The only relevance of this charge in context of the present controversy on honour killings on questions of ‘love, marriage and sex’ means conversely that khap should not oppose free sex and the right to ‘freedom of choice’ in such matters to allow industries flourish on the strength of male and female sexuality. Why khap or for that matter anybody should support such a demand for a sinful profession to prosper at the cost of social cohesion, is the question.

This charge can be true only if it is conceded that by modernity they mean industrial-commercial culture where it is money, and not human relations, that dominate when one does not need fellow members of the family and community but the money alone to regulate relations from economic to social, cultural and sexual, if sexuality is taken as an asset on sale and purchase overtly or covertly, to bet. It has nothing to do with love as a human trait with emotional value of much higher level than craze to exploit sex.

The Liberating Elements : Dignity of Woman or Her Sexuality In this campaign against Khap practice, so-called honour killing is the mascot with right of choice as a central piece of faith, raging a debate on matters sex, sexuality and marriage of late in public domain and the effort seems to keep the subject boiling by all leading media centres. NGO sector and the feminists groups particularly, wittingly or unwittingly are putting hard labour on these questions seizing upon any opportunity to do it. Sometimes it appears that few vested interests are behind this tirade like fashion industry, mobile and ready made garment firms.

A case is being made as if sex, sexuality (they talk less about love though) are the only defining contours of women liberation. It has brought such aspects of human life to streets which normally had been the subject of privacy between husband and wife till now, inflaming an artificial urge for (107)

Khap sexual orgy between immature and raw urchins as subject of enjoyment and fun. They are being made to feel as if doors of bliss have opened, not available to them before in a closed society on this aspect of life –a subtle way to win over immature minds before they could get real feel of life.

All this nonsense is being talked about in a society which normally is closed on more essential things for survival. For it trade secrets of traders and manufacturers, event secrets that rob society and consumers are sacrosanct and more important to guard than the good of society. But it is more keen to open bed rooms for invasion to commercial interests leading to even wide spread depravity in sexual matters. Hell to society for it in the interests of commercial gains, this is its law! Sex is another drug it is encouraging.

A full-fledged campaign is on to draw urchins, adolescents and youths to wild fantasies woven around female sexuality. It cannot go on without the support of state establishment and the money bags. Depiction of woman in despicable nudity and eulogising such streetwalkers, society girls or boys as heroes is like turning sexual depravity socially acceptable and honourable, though legally a crime.

No one from feminist faith ever takes notice of how woman is being degraded in public mind by such depiction and her dignity getting a beating. Who is providing this laxity and why, question begs a reasonable answer.

The questions of sex, sexuality and marriage are important for all those only who need to know intricacies involved and beat ignorance at particular stage in life. Proper counselling may solves their problems. The present unruly debate has not benefitted any one, neither the woman nor the man or the child. It also needs to be underlined that these aspects of social life are not questions relating only to women, unless the approach is sectarian for some underhand purpose. In relation to the liberation of woman from any perceived or real oppression of any kind it is the question of (108)

Perceptions and Perspectives her dignity more important than sex, sexuality and marriage, if her position in larger context has to be studied and deviation contested. This is the first point of difference with these protagonists of sexual anarchy.

One noted historian academic from Haryana, who knows her region from urban settings, has in a recent piece surmises marriage of women as control of female sexuality and bestowal of this sexuality in marriage, meaning that a female has no control over her own self. This is the crux of feminist approach to women problems these days and an academic view of looking at things divorced from real touch.

She did not answer, however, what self-control on sex anarchy will imply for a dignified woman in case one is married and for an unmarried one.

Here, sexual relation between husband and wife is surmised as control. But it is mutual control in a married life, otherwise, saying this amounts to debunking monogamy.

The marriage affair is taken as a subject of sole male (patriarch) decision, which in a family cannot and does not happen. It normally takes months/years together of wide consultations before a relationship is decided to be part of this web of relationships. She has not answered whether this control of sexuality in marriage is a one sided affair.

The whole edifice of feminism (as a distinct philosophy based on individualism) seems to rest upon this premise of looking at things partially and in a coloured fashion creating artificial fission between two compatible categories of human life. This is the reason why heavy majority of female population does not care about such rants and raves from a sponsored campaign of the upper crust of society, except youngsters of raw and impressionable age where the danger to society lies. In simple terms, the attack is on the institution of marriage, leading to a plea for unregulated sex in adultry. ‘Hell with society and social fabric, if the right of love (109)

Khap between two individuals is not appreciated, such is the logic in desperation from these quarters in debate, knowing well that Heer-Ranjha phenomenon is not the rule in normal human life and bereft of society, man can reduce to animal world of dwarfs. The very existence of social fabric is thus made subject to the supremacy of ‘sex love’ between two individuals, where love itself generally takes a few weeks to wear off. Such is the logic of these anarchic narcissists and their pleaders!

While the said historian notes that customary rules that regulate marriages in most parts of India, especially northern India, are based upon caste endogamy, on the one hand, and Gotra, village or territorial exogamy on the other. Any breach of the customary practices leads to direct violence since the law on marriages go directly against the customary practice.

If one can recollect the fact, having state power in hand just after independence, Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 was enacted in haste on a different premise to usher in a uniform code for an unwilling heterogeneous Hindu society. This is the reason it could not work on certain aspects till now. For example, this Act prohibits marriage with the widow of a brother. You try your hand in enforcing this provision in law and reap unrest of unprecedent scale, if one likes.

At least in northern part of the country among peasantry such a marriage is a normal practice, despite what this Manuwadi law prescribes. So, if this legislation of 1955 allows marriage between two adult individuals within Gotra and within a village two hoots for it. Gotra prohibitions do not loose the force and disappear only because it is enough old practice. It makes no sense that an old practice to hold mother sacrosanct and in reverence does not hold relevance, unless one is bent upon to go out in the camp of lunatics.

The academic historian does not explain what motive had impelled in enacting such archaic law to force things by back door on a whole peasant community without their (110)

Perceptions and Perspectives consent. Then, now after six decades to make an issue of this deceitful law to force inter-gotra and inter-village marriages giving death blow to the concept of brotherhood that sustain village life and sustenance agriculture is nothing short of brigandry and make such a legislative piece so sacrosanct as to sacrifice the social fabric. Such reverence to laws is unknown to jurisprudence even with the law makers.

But the servility of so-called Marxists to this law to beat peasantry white is astoundingly revealing to their open faith in capitalist order of the day. They cannot claim clemency for betrayal to the concept of revolutionary thought and practice, if sexual anarchism is not their new faith.

As an academic, she must know that no law should cross arbitrarily the limits of customary practices of a large section of society in pursuit of individual right at the cost of social/political peace. But, perhaps social peace is not the agenda with powers that be in order to keep the pot boiling for another agenda to gain ground instead.

She admits that honour is a highly elusive and indefinable notion, still she goes on with the concept in usual usage. Perhaps her personal opinion is coloured by the feminist perceptions as normally such educated women carry this big baggage without much critical study these days- an education system that colours vision on a sponsored project as a legacy of colonial past with Macaulay in command still. To look at sex, sexuality and marriage from feminist perspective seems to be the problem when matters are twisted to propagate individualism with its narcissist implications to social movement.

Marriage and sex are not ladders for career improvement which the newly educated class of careerists is out to turn it one of late. This is a general trend among them which goes in conflict with the previous concept prevalent in rural society that is breeding a conflict situation (111)

Khap of high magnitude. For this class both marriage and sex are commodities that turns the woman as an object of indignity in market economy, more degrading than any perceived or real conflict in the previous dispensation.

Let us remember: woman is not an object of sex, neither a means for entertainment. If agreed, think again. The money bags in entertainment and tourism industry will invent the slogans of women liberation that very moment and make life hell for the rulers as Jean-walas and mobile-walas are doing of late, reaching even to the corridors of higher courts, making it a right to wear or tear one, despite the constitutional prescription of public decency.

It is true that woman is continuously being crafted to be an object of entertainment at the cost of dignity as a human being, duly helped by state institutions, including the heavily paid NGOs sector, sponsored by certain foreign interests like IMF, World Bank etc who are out to control the whole economy of this country afresh through other means.

Unfortunately, a sizable section of educated women is already victim to allurement of these degrading pursuits in entertainment avocations for livelihood in the age of contrived unemployment where captains of industry are trying hard to sell the idea to young rural girls who reach centres of education, while not answering why industry has gone sterile in providing useful and dignified employment?

What they preach instead is not freedom, but a contrived trap. Such academicians must study this aspect too while dealing with questions of sex, sexuality and marriage for females. It must be emphasised that men, women are born for dignified pursuits and not to serve private interests of money bags on the strength of their dirty left-over crumbs.

Sex urge may be natural at a particular age and for a definite age-span among humans, so to animal world too.

But in humans it is subject to control and regulation at will.

(112)

Perceptions and Perspectives Celibacy is as good a phenomenon among them as promiscuity is with loose ends. Man/woman is not and cannot be slave to sexuality unless it is taken as a tool for enjoyment taking male/female as a saleable tool. And sale or purchase of a human being is not the modern idea! Only a crafty trader can go to this extent for selfish interests.

When someone propounds that sex is the pivot to human behaviour it goes beyond the realm of reality to plead for a fantasy that has catered to the cause of commercial interests, when organs of procreation so developed in nature are converted to be tools of joy by crafty minds.

It is for nothing that corporate world has taken this premise to heart since then as an effective tool for its unaccounted riches. Let us go back a little and ask: what was the reason that society in general once had remained largely not infected by the sexual depravity of rulers in bygone period of lords; they remained objects of despise on this account from their subjects?

Sex urge is a product of biological growth at a particular age of maturity to handle sensibly, unless someone ignites it artificially in his/her brain as is being done for some time past with definite agenda to fulfil.

The current outburst of this sex urge among all sections of Indian society too is a result of a relentless effort in conditioning society for this new found ‘faith’ through a purposely designed campaign to involve human material in sex orgies like they do on drugs.

Pornography is a super-profit venture these days that also is serving to condition society in unregulated and perverted sex to drug the society dull. It is part of a big game.

Watch out the events of last four or five decades and the criminal hands at the plot will tumble down from these stinking cupboards. Surely, society is not what marketeers running after private profit entertain for social good!

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Khap

Double irony Let us see the result of this sposored feminist campaign: it is a double irony that this feminist humbug for over two decades has been so eloquent on free choice in matters sex as a matter of right denouncing family control on urchins going deviant and are virulent on Khaps for ‘talibani dictats’ on one side, while the same elements turn hyper-active when such deviants as product of their campaign go amuck on sexual orgies just for fun as free individuals!!

The immediate target of this design is clear to bare eye: (1) breaking the family, including its neighbourhood community relationships, (2) demolishing social institution of marriage through a counter cultural revolution of sorts and (3) making subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, handicraft etc bust, duly helped by legislations and the law courts for easy take over by capitalists is the agenda.

The concepts of gay-marriage and live-in relationships are few fresh inventions found in this direction through reinterpretation of the same old laws in India recently, perhaps to provide congenial atmosphere here to the visiting bigwigs with lot of money to invest as also to hordes of tourists in search of eastern tourist girls for sweet company.

At a time when the ‘robust’ economy has been led to a zero employment phase in its onward march to progress through liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation process, the doors are being opened for our young to engage in such degrading pursuits for survival.

Secondly, hitting the very concept of Bhaichara (brotherhood), otherwise an exalted human quality, came under so severe an attack as something remnant of conservative past when corporate media suddenly found that it is the rock bottom foundation of Khaps that work as umbrella to tide over difficult moments in rural hinterland, ignoring the fact totally that subsistence agriculture will (114)

Perceptions and Perspectives collapse the day this concept vanishes, more so in areas where female labour is a major contributing part of this task as in Haryana. It may be underlined that customs and practices with the working people are not for fancy sake, unlike with those who live by the labour of others.

How to relate these developments of these two decades and plus of upper class prosperity through this LPG and such sexual depravity of our youngsters as the rising graph in rape cases show, other than the premise that sexual depravity is a purposefully sponsored game like the British did once to make China dull on opium. The feminist approach to female sex, sexuality and marriage is surely leading us to this uncharted course of non-relationships by breaking family and community relationships.

Man and woman are compatibles to each other in nature, despite man made incompatibility between both.

Those who are powerful enough to make them incompatibles have axe to grind in a divided world of private interests.

And private interests have not been ordained by nature, these are man-made. This is history. These can be then over turned, if both decide and divisive elements are isolated.

Woman and man in natural growth have attained compatibility for perpetuating their race as one of their important task, if both will. Sexuality of both is a related feature to that end and marriage is a social sanction for this compatibility while certifying dignity of both in the web of social relations to keep order in a settled community. This is how relations have emerged to sustain harmony.

With the advent of industrial-commercial mode of production and distribution, this element of entertainment in sex is the worst intervention one could do to woman and man relationship, more so to woman; she has virtually been turned into a commodity as also raw material that is now directly feeding industries in India, including modelling, cat (115)

Khap walks (forgetting human walks) without adding anything worth to the wealth of nations, except the fictional GDP for easy illusions to work with. Rulers know it.

Marriage is a socially regulated aspect of sex life between two compatibles, whereas forced sex is unproductive and criminal act to the detriment of social order. This sensibility underlines rural life in general. One aspect need be stressed in this debate on sex, sexuality and marriage: who needs uninhibited sex free from social taboos or sex at demand? Why a woman in dignity would like to be as a chattel at all for sex on demand? Clearly, reference here is about women, not overt or covert, lowly or high-heeled prostitutes of any gender by will.

Sex, sexuality and marriage are questions of social interaction between human beings. If market forces start conducting this interaction, rather than on the basis of social mores the problem is bound to burst in the face, sooner or later. There is no escape from the tragedy. In fact it has already started unfolding with disastrous effects.

In defence of free sex is a concept of right for the individual to roam free and do whatever one likes, with no concern for neighbours and those parents who do bonebreaking labour to bring up him/her in comfort. In such a scenario parents are supposed to observe obligation to the kids with no comparable rights? If conceded, this will ultimately lead to a situation where parents also one day may find themselves free from obligations to siblings of no use to them. It will be a sad day.

What type of human being will be one who is detached from all social environs except money spinning individuals?

It is leading to anarchy in relations, with contempt for family and community for the sake of momentary sexual freedom!

There is no denying the fact that sexuality is a personal trait but that necessarily resides within the ambit of social (116)

Perceptions and Perspectives obligation to each other as normal citizens exercise it. Rights are subject to public morality and decency, even under law.

As a result, sexuality does not remain a personal trait to exercise. If sex is a profession or passion having serious social ramification no system can remain unconcerned, unless one chooses to remain anarchic.

It is a tragedy of sorts: in the era of employment-less development forced on society by LPG policies in the service of corporate capital, unemployed youths are being made conscious constantly of a fallacy by those very forces who closed venues of employment for them in their blind pursuit of super-profit by opting such a path of development and are now asking them to use their sexuality as an easy avenue to riches. like any other man do with their assets. Corporate media is happy to sell the idea and assure full support to such forays without any guilt for a social betrayal. The newly propped up middle class with aspirations to catch the sky at the earliest is true to its flimsy character for grabbing the bait, without realising the social cost.

There is another tragedy: the demand for employment has yielded place to much more shrill a demand for ‘freedom of choice’ instead by the youths with a right of exclusive ownership over their bodies to use as they like and their ire is redirected to their own elders. The stratagem has worked to the script and day is saved for the real culprits who destroyed the future of middle class youths.

Youth and Sexuality The first charge against those who have ruled India for as long as six decades, emerges that they have deliberately pushed the youth of this country to a brute and criminal life in matters of sex. They have to answer it first. They played with the life of a vibrant nation.

If one claims that such sex depravity is in the very nature of youth, let them answer as to why there were no cases of (117)

Khap honour killings or rapes before 1947 as these are today when the country was considered much more poverty-stricken and less developed? If sexual surge is such a driving force coming naturally with youths - both boys and girls, as is made out to be by the vested interests day and night to justify any and every act of deviant behaviour, how to explain its lack of such depravity about sexual behaviour among the virtually naked aborigines roaming on this planet, including India?

In fact, ruling establishment stands charged that present edition of sexual urge among youths is the product of an effort to make the nation ‘modern’ of their script. .

Understanding the Problem: Love/sex, marriage, honour killing and development To understand the problem let us elaborate a bit. In the current campaign the core accusation against Khap relates to the question of so-called honour killings. Despite hard facts to the contrary, the accusation goes on parroting relentlessly. For example, police officials testified in Supreme Court on the basis of records that there is not a single case since January 2001 to 31 December, 2011 where Khap stands accused of honour killings in Haryana.

Those enterprising journalists, with definite affiliations of a particular political creed, that go on accusing Khaps for such cases are merely illiterates who do not want to learn that khap does not and can not exist at village level. They do not want to understand that khap and Gotra khap are two different things. In Manoj-Babli case, the concerned journalist belonging to a national newspaper merely documented entirely the prosecution theory in her book to propound their pet theories about honour killings by khaps in the state.

One thing is sure; the rustics of rural India are no brutes; they are human beings with a better sense of human values, emotions and sensibilities than the sharks out to kill for money living in city environs. The practitioners of Khap (118)

Perceptions and Perspectives do never conspire even against adversaries what to say about their own children. When they decide reluctantly to punish deviant kin; it is within the ambit of ‘Ha, Ma, Dhik’ principle.

They are more attached to their welfare than anybody else.

To take the life of kin is not as easy with them as it is with exploiters. For punishment, murder is not so convenient an option as is made out by these sham well wishers. Neither the problem of family honour is so cheap with man or his family to dispense it so conveniently. Let it be understood.

When a mother or father happens to kill any of his/her kin for any reason whatsoever, remember, the intensity of provocation involved. Who has provided this level of provocation in the first instance? None else than those who have put the society to such a stage of crass self-seekers and this very club of elites who is out to make sex so cheap on the street to place rural India on the path of a war with itself.

But who put our young on this path of sexual deprivity?

Definitely, it is not a father or a mother? Who then is training the innocent youngsters to such a path of ruin?

Surely, the first lesson to students comes from the government itself who starts training students from primary classes onward by involving them in dance and songs as part of so-called cultural activities.

Where is the manadate from parents to initiate students at tender age for such nasty activities beyond the pale of curriculum? Do parents constitute such a dispensible category in relation to their own children? If an urchin starts life with ‘Haath mein katora, peir mein ghoongroo’ one can imagine what will be the fate of this nation! When students reach universities and colleges they already stand initiated for such vulgarity in sex games.

Khaps are accused of being anti-national, antidevelopment by frightening FDI with their conservative (119)

Khap approach to sex. But who made FDI a pre-requisite to development? Not the people, neither the khaps. There was no such mandate to the rulers. They did it on the bidding of money bags. And development by trading sex of Indian women? Shameless people only who have no sense of human dignity can utter such nonesense.

The government first started posing FDI as an essential condition for development since 1991, throwing out selfreliance policy and now the argument goes to make a congenial atmosphere for these investors from Europe, with their culture of sex as a tool for recreation and making profit from such industries whose raw material is male/female sex.

The corporate media in tow is busy to make India soft as a drum boy for this life style.

Another accusation against khap is about its caste affiliation. The experience testifies that rural population is less caste and gender ridden than these modern and educated elites are. The recent census data corroborates that prejudice against female births is more pronounced and the span of married life is shortest in this section of population with a skewed mindset because of education and economic status they have gained rather than the unlettered rural folks in India with no such ‘privileges’ of a modern life!

If these contentions are wrong, let one question be answered forthrightly: who has benefitted from this campaign of two decades for making sex as liberal as is available on demand in European markets?

It has led to provide congenial or homely environment with humour tours, live-in relationship, homosexuality or contract marriages for big cats here on professional jaunts or just on a visit in search of low cost freewheeling, as a tool of entertainment and simultaneously boosted designer apparel industry, film industry, tourism and hotel industry, cosmetic industry, beauty and massage parlours, (120)

Perceptions and Perspectives advertisement, fashion industry, surrogacy and the like (more than twenty five in number at present) where female and male sex or sexuality is the raw material.

It is an incontrovertible fact that this market and the concerned industries cannot flourish until woman is ‘liberated’ from homely sense of shame for selling sex. This job is accomplished through the so-called philosophy of feminism with such concepts like freedom of choice and individuality - the base of existential concept of life that is bereft of social content, pushing the young girls and boys out of homes to the wilderness of city market as a means to ‘fame, riches and flourish’, no matter to what cost.

To turn rural India as the supplier of young boys and girls for this city markets in search of ‘low-cost, highest return and least risk’ industry newly invented on the strength of Freudian concepts, rural ‘rustics’ are now asked to follow this prescription of a rotten life style, no matter how obnoxious it may be to social mores in the country.

This is the model they are asking rural India to adopt.

These people arrogate to self the right to decide for others how they are to lead their lives, without even nominal debate and are out to dictate terms for existence as citizens.

These brown Sahibs, radiant with arrogance on questions of right and wrong, are claiming the whole wisdom on issues, social and cultural involved and are out to decide what the other India has to follow. The threat of legal murders to practitioners of dissent to their system of values speaks volumes in this regard. This is purely an imperial mindset, and surely, it has nothing to do with democratic percepts values they do not tire to laud.

By regimenting the thinking faculty and relentless indoctrination of the people through education process and such a media campaign, they may allure a section of youths from rural families to its side who are in dark about what is (121)

Khap awaiting them. But it is sure that rural Bharat is not amused with this effort to convert it; modernity or no modernity.

It will be many times happy with its own ‘conservative’ life style, if given a chance to survive, rather than prefer a half-clad, non-clad but decadent body of selfish life these urbanites prefer to flaunt as its progress. But, perhaps elites of this nation are bent upon to convert them, whatever the cost unless their hands are forced to stop in tracks. The task is urgent that needs immediate reaction for remedy.

Traditions and customs: Another funny accusation against rural folks is about their blind adherence to traditions and customs, as if this is enough a crime to invite low grade citizenship, especially when questions of marriage and dispute resolution are under scrutiny; both aspects so close to their life style.

If someone is averse to tradition or custom terming it feudal, the position will be ridiculous. Take a simple example to understand: there is tradition to treat the mother unlike a Bhabi or a wife in conduct and behaviour, which has come through ages. How this differential conduct is feudal on tradition and sufficient cause to leave it? Then what to replace with? The question cannot be answered by labelling it as ‘moral policing’. Britain goes by an unwritten Constitution, consisting mainly of traditions and customs! Is it logical to brand Britain of today then as a feudal state, which it is not by any old or new standard to judge, except fancy?

If rural India insists to follow its own traditions and customs, more so in relation to family affairs, no one can reasonably argue it otherwise. The present set of jurisprudence too does not exclude traditions and customs.

Problem arises only when Brahmanical customs are sought to apply for all through law in a society of diversity.

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Perceptions and Perspectives

10

Education A Tool To Rule

Another fatal myth works like a gauntlet in the present day world that education basically is a worthy tool for a civilised life. Beware of it. It is a tool, no doubt, but today in the hands of rulers to shape the mind of the ruled in their own image. This explains why one finds educated class today generally hostile to village life and its ethos on one pretext or the other. Explanation is desired.

Present education system in India is not its own creation. It has a Macaulay pedigree in thrust and content.

With the given object basically of keeping Indians tied to an exploitative mode, the education created a class of people who excelled in appreciating everything European and despise rural India as plague.

Unfortunately, after over six decades of independence, basically its task is the same with one more addition that everything American is bliss. Previously also education was to help the growth of colonial economy and now its task is to help the growth of capitalist relations in economy and socio-cultural field to advance its interests. Knowledge seeking is tuned to this main object. In context of the current subject of this study it can be laid bare.

It is not surprising that village life with its ethics, mores and conventions are anathema to almost all educated class, including those who otherwise marvel in their rural ancestry and go to enjoy weekends there. They all despise rural ethos.

Education system has worked hard to produce this class and highly indoctrinated them in city mores based on individual rights and take their elders as intruders in their lives. They are tuned to exercise command on their atomised family affairs themselves.

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Khap Having such tuning, the critics of Khaps/ Gotra Khaps among the intellectual community are mainly those who are themselves crusaders of existential freedom in the name of ‘love and sex’ taking sex as love and giving the family and community mores a go by in pursuit of an elusive satisfaction within a world of dissatisfaction on failures at the hands of superior competitors in the market. Perhaps, who hold sex as entertainment made available freely, are out to take refuge in S. Freud as philosopher and smell danger in Khap to achieve sizeable company for comfort, after frayed nerves with a day of over-work in the service of masters in pampered city centres of night life! It is a breed differently crafted by a system of education for an exploitative mode.

One or two illustration will do. Once a chance dialogue with a research scholar from MDU Rohtak it transpired that patriarchy is what she has learnt from the teachers. It was an admission after her relations with the father and husband were found exceptionally dotting with her own attachment to her small daughter like a deeply emotional mother. Still, the lady was a fully convinced subscriber to the feminist concept of freedom from ‘dependence syndrome’.

The same University, in response to one query under RTI, claims that it feels no obligation to consult parents before utilising the service of students, beyond the scope of syllabus for which they are enrolled in the university, on the ground that one is adult and needs no such care, though the same institution gets signature of parents/ guardians before one is enrolled for studies. Technically, the authorities of the university are within the ambit of law though, but forget their obligation to the families of their wards and treat the students practically as an individual entity enjoying legal right as an individual free from supervision of the family.

There started a search and the result was astounding.

True to the ideals of individualism, it is contended that feminism be viewed as a mode of existence where woman is (124)

Perceptions and Perspectives free from dependence syndrome. And when women free themselves from dependence syndrome and lead a normal life (with self in front), idea of feminism materialises. Thus enjoins a professor in English with Delhi University.

He contends that the society lives by myths; preceding society created myths around Sita and Savitri for their loyalty and dedication and conditioned the society around such myths to follow. So now, he pleads, new myths are to be modelled for replacement. While examining how well feminism has been presented and how replacement models are possible within Indian context he commends a novel, So Many Hungers, by Bhabhani Bhattacharya as a good piece.

He explains: Its character Kajoli shows great courage in defying dependence neither on her dotting grandfather, nor on her caring husband. She leaves the village and moves to Calcutta (now Kolkata) where she is sold in prostitution and she saves herself by selling newspapers.

When this novel is commended to students as a ‘great novel’ by the Professor it qualifies as his ‘replacement model’ for a myth to condition society in the changed circumstances, as also a model for self assertion by a female protagonist as a true champion of feminism, notably ‘within the Indian context’. Freedom from the grandfather is better than slavery to the brothel keeper or the newspaper lord in this case.

The above quote sums up succinctly the essence of the argument in favour of fight against dependence syndrome which has emerged as the clarion call of feminist thought in the country and how education today seeks to condition society through students on its philosophy.

From die-hard rightist to radical left, all find ‘economic independence’ with property right of woman as a sure remedy for patriarchal injustice. Such is the influence of ‘economic determinism’ in deciding issues of social-cultural nature and education is doing its role in conditioning society in that direction. By now the new myth of this economic (125)

Khap independence for woman’s emancipation is a running theme, thanks to educationists, though the new slavery in sexuality to money is considered a professional hazard worth grabbing!

Ignoble examples The elite club must be happy about what it has achieved already for its efforts. A recent incident is symbolic: It was a shameful scene for the common citizens to watch, when media persons were out recently on the roads of Mumbai to defend the interests of a slain colleague in media. He indulged in shameless sexual indulgence in course of his official position with a small time actress. She was out to trade her sex in search of a better space in glamour world to earn gold, be on page one or three of the media for a wider market opportunity in the entertainment industry and seek a place of ‘honour’ or dishonour among super-rich. What freedom the duo was enjoying in defence of which trade union was keen to parade? The Bhanwari case of Rajasthan is another story of example where sex is traded shamelessly.

There is another kind of success story of free love for the elite to be happy about, while it is sadly instructive for rural population more as a scary to worry about: Read on: On 19 September, 2009, in an incident first of its kind, two caring families were slated to be killed under a joint operation by the jilted sex-lovers of the same village nearby Rohtak in Haryana. On her part, the girl strangulated all the seven available members of her family, including the children to remain free, one by one while they laid unconscious by poison, the boy tricked and saved his family.

Soon after the murders in the night, dead bodies lying around, both celebrated their love and freedom of choice to their heart’s content. On arrest both were bold to be free.

Heartless murders for sex right! Family members or any khap had issued no talibani fatwa against the two!! Simple fact is that both the mothers of the boy and girl were aware (126)

Perceptions and Perspectives of what they were indulging in and silently working to avert the disaster by their own means. How come such a pass in a rural family having a tranquil past? Both the girl and boy were inspired by modern views on sex in the city nearby.

The girl led the affair. She belonged to a father who did his best to earn money sufficient to finance her study in the university nearby, only to translate his obligation towards a sibling learning lessons these years in free love and getting training to be a crass individual instead duly helped by the whole system of formal and informal education prevalent in the country of late. This happened in an area where hardly ever one could find any such incident two decades earlier.

The ‘lovers’ are in jail as under trials with no regret, but neither enjoying the cherished freedom as honourable citizens too. What hands put them to the path of crime and ruin even as individuals and for what? Question begs answer.

Another tragic incident on the plate: Learning that sexlovers are protected by law in its new avatar with shelter available a boy and girl of village Garnauthi eloped away from home. Tracing their location the father to the girl brought them to the village and openly murdered both to ‘clean the society’ with the help of other members in the family on 18 September, 2013 with no regret. Another college girl fled with family ornaments and money to marry a boy who later baulked for fear of reprisal like Garnauthi.

Kabulpur and Garnauthi are not alone. They represent a trend how the war like situation is taking over families in villages. When the concept of individualism nurtured by the corresponding education system is duly being helped to make sex as an elixir of life for youth like an intoxicant of potential mischief, Kabulpur and Garnauthi tragedies occur.

This is what our seats of learning like Universities and colleges are doing on behalf of this corporate agenda now.

When teachers thus drum the ‘right of an adult to be (127)

Khap free from any obligation to his family’ enjoying freedom from dependence syndrome and taking decisions thereby laying the ground for sinister individualism to creep in, one cannot be surprised what the girls and boys are doing currently like in Mumbai, Kabulpur Garnauthi.

Ostensibly, there was legalism in play in response to RTI query by MDU to cover a wrong that is untenable on socially legitimate grounds in a society that cherishes familial relationship lifelong, while in case of other it was exercise in indoctrination of the same pedigree.

It was perhaps a moment of satisfaction for these elites on this spectacular achievement of their efforts when sex is as saleable as a soap cake on the shelf without a wink of hesitation or shame, but a spectacle of grief for the families concerned and the country not to be proud of its education system over what it is teaching the new generation of impressionable age. But, the murders? Again, better no question asked. This is a small price for the cherished goal of freedom and GDP to soar to new heights!

However, this leaves a tale no one will invite for his/ her siblings to visit, even if the family is banished for a sober thought. This is new times, but of a different variety than what was desired for a peaceful existence with dignity, if dignity itself is not synonymous with wealth.

Keep looking around......

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Perceptions and Perspectives

11

Role of Political Parties

Yes, there is flood of sexual depravity in relations at present. Men/women seem to have become victims to the plot. That was not their nature. Rural areas used to have a shield against any such unnatural inclination in the cultural mores, which are under severe attack now by those inimical forces who care less about social cohesion and more about individual rights, with no mind to social cost, since the days American government started dictating focus here on individual rights through a chain of paid NGOs. It is also true that sexual depravation started spreading like a contagious disease during the period of LPG. Everybody seems to be worried about the emerging situation and suggesting ways to meet it according to his/her perceptions. However, there seems to be less effort to study its genesis for a way out. Depravity is not an outcome of any natural process that has gone wrong somewhere. The truth is that someone is benefitting out of this depravity and benefitting hugely. This is one aspect of the problem which is not in discourse at present.

Is human evil by nature or has gone amuck suddenly?

Is one prone to depravity? May be, one is soft to infection due to decrease in resistance capacity inside and for poor understanding of the problem. But, it is difficult for anyone to claim that some super-natural force was happy previously and sent Bhagat Singh and the like on this soil but now on punishment all ill souls like Asaram are scattered around on Indian soil in abundance! It is absurd logic.

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Khap So far, however, it is held on authority that by nature human is humane. But, if infection is injected to a healthy body on purpose and then medicine, fake or half fake, is sold for money simultaneously telling the patient to be careful about the infection by his/her evil disposition without telling the source of depravity, one can understand the bill to the social deficit. Let the wise-men tell also the source of this depravity that lays somewhere and someone is reaping huge money out of it. This is the result of market forces that have been let off the hook purposely to make capitalist mare run amuck. Who has done it? Unfortunately for the commoners, all the organised political forces working in the country are party to it. For a reason: Let us recollect a bit of history. The modern political dispensation is the product of a resounding slogan that had once awakened people against autocracy in West. ‘Equality, liberty, fraternity’ was a war cry of the rising bourgeoisie when it came out free from agriculture as an independent class of trade and manufacture. It had spurred industrial revolution against monarchy and autocracy and gave rise to democratic aspirations that were found quite dangerous to the rule of capital at a later stage of its march.

With the released mass energy out of this concept, newly emerging bourgeois class in power at a point of time felt deeply threatened and devised a strategy to put jinn into the bottle back: it devised a concept of representative democracy, converted cunningly Liberty from autocratic rule of state into freedom from patriarchy and feudalism instead, thus saving the day for state violence. But it robbed democracy of its core values and turned society into a collection of individuals by crafting a fresh instrument known as political parties as people’s representatives, to checkmate this unwanted mass energy that may have told death-knell of this new rapacious monster in course of time.

It is this instrument in political parties, which has shut (130)

Perceptions and Perspectives the initiative and decision making power of people to a handful of manageable leaders for control and regulate this energy on dotted lines, killing creativity of the masses to ensure stability of an exploitative system. This is what has happened. It saved the day for capitalist system to kick.

It is the class of leaders of political parties that has served the present exploitative system to survive through sheer manipulation of thoughts, even those who apparently profess change in production relations. Let us see what such a leader who in few words said: 1. To prevent capitalist growth and go for social revolution ...is altogether reactionary.

2. Except through the growth of capitalism there is no guarantee of victory over it.

3. Do not retard the development of capitalism but accelerate it, forcing it to resort to more civilised, technically higher methods of capitalism... it suits the proletariat.

If only three short quotes above are gone through meticulously there remains little doubt that it is a plain plea to work for capitalist development.

What political parties did in history Deliberately, the source of these quotes above are not mentioned against each, which normally is the norm, lest one is baffled and put on shock out of his faith, where faith is the staple food for this new little tribe of leaders to thrive.

Though a bit diversion, here it may be mentioned that the contraption of a political party and the concept of authority (apart from invention of money and sex as enjoyment) has been one of the most sinister drugs invented by the bourgeois thought that ultimately proved to be the undoing of healthy growth in society and have sapped out the energy of people’s power, which had been the source of social change in history, arrogance of elites apart.

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Khap One fact may be mentioned without any fear of contradiction that all political parties are today wedded to the above quoted formulas on one pretext or the other, including the leftists, in advancing the cause of capitalist growth that thrive on expropriation of the majority to the advantage of minority and which is the root cause of inequality, misery and oppression of every kind in all countries without exception. Once it was done on the slogan of New Democracy, now National Democracy, while some others did it on pretext of People’s Democracy and few more on the plank of Social or Socialist Democracy. Such deceptions are galore, to hide behind the facade of ideology while serving this charming progenitor -the capitalist class!

It is an incontrovertible fact that Marxists or other variant of left parties in India have been following the above quotes to the letter and spirit with disastrous consequences for the agenda of social change that has gone bust so far, while they continue mouthing slogans of Inquilab Zindabad.

The above quotes may help clear the deep mist of this treachery if told that these gems of wisdom are from none else than the great Lenin who had shaped the strategy and tactics of socialism in large part of twentieth century that has gone waste lastly. And, faith in Lenin or Mao is sacrosanct with them still, despite what happened to the experiment in Soviet camp and China or Vietnam! Leaders have been more faithful to these teachings than Marxism and its essence.

The Indian Marxists of all hues and nomenclature are practically victims of the dynamics lying behind these quotes from Lenin and have been virtually acting diligently and faithfully for the growth and consolidation of capitalism since day one better than the outright bourgeoisie parties.

This was also the tragedy that scripted the epitaph of the experiment in Soviet camp, Vietnam, China and others.

It makes clear why adherents of the above quotes are so zealously virulent in denouncing Khap in India by (132)

Perceptions and Perspectives declaring this practice as a remnant of feudal moss. They are so ready to strike at the roots of family and the marriage as institutions of social relevance. How family, community and regulated sex through institution of marriage are detrimental to the capitalist growth? We will see it a bit later in the article. That will clear the real face of these left leaders.

Indian communists: Pathetic apologist of capitalism!

Since, the object of this article is not to evaluate Marxists but to deal with the question of two distinct cultural modes in operation today, these quotes are provided to make it clear as to why leftists of all hues in India are, wittingly or unwittingly, mouthing slogans for Revolution against capitalism, while practically working for capitalist growth.

After reaching a stage of its development capitalist growth requires dispersal of families and village way of life so that subsistence agriculture can be easily taken over without resistance, as individuals in family and community tend to get organised for resistance easily.

This job of dispersal of families and demolishing community way of life in rural India is being done by left parties more than anybody else with a philosophical twist by branding it as feudal past, providing a historical parallel.

According to this logic since feudalist tendencies are a hurdle in the onward march of capitalist growth in the country, so to disband such institutions is the duty of progressive forces of history, which logic is acceptable to its indoctrinated cadres in the hope that socialist construction is being thus speeded indirectly and through capitalist hands in the given situation.

The alibi is however spurious and a criminal diversion.

The cadres of these parties are hardly left capable to catch the mischief of leadership who are victims of teachings provided by Lenin himself as above quotes amply clarify.

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Khap These left parties in India tragically, by resorting to branding family as a left over moss of feudalism, are simultaneously championing for a corresponding cultural mode that breeds crash individualism to the detriment of social cohesion, breaking the families into atomised units instead with self interest dominating the scene, including instigation to a dark urge for sex gratification, which even animals do not indulge in. It fully corresponds to the task corporate capital has undertaken at this particular stage of its development to dissipate the youth energy for diversion.

So the slogan ‘down with khaps, and long live women liberation movement’ makes a perfect combination of the twin objectives explicit that catches fancy equally of both.

The slogan from ‘progressive’ elements do make sense for the corporate capital to rejoice, while it is a foolish hope on part of day dreamers to think that it will one day pave way for the dictatorship of the proletariat to take possession of the scene and set right the wrong they are now helping to flourish. The corporate capital is not any longer worried about ‘revolution’ from these friendly forces any more..

People need not be fooled around like this with double talk. A patently wrong understanding of historical materialism held mechanically with a flourish of ideological sweep from Lenin is the real reason behind a virulent hatred for rural way of life, including attachment to family relationship from all such progressives of double faith in the name of fighting feudal remnants, while searching for a necessary ‘progressive’ stage in capitalism, when at another place these parties have been debunking it as moribund.

This is the ideological tragedy of Indian left in following old clichés without understanding the present. In fact, following such precepts as above, Indian Marxists of all hues have proved not better than minesweepers for a capitalist faith caring little about mounting miseries of masses under present system and practically delaying dawn of new era.

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Perceptions and Perspectives Consolidating crash individualism under the present stage of capitalist development, even in the hope of developing productive forces for socialist take over in future, may be a bigger deluge than one meets the eye. It will be a hard journey to reverse.

Through a grand strategy people are fed by a sustained campaign that their role in history is to follow the leaders and political parties, as these are embodiment of wisdom and authority. The stratagem has worked to the script. When the question of Khap was taken up by media for attack, the political parties and their leadership, leftist parties and leaders more than others, again came out in support of capitalist order that is working for the right of individual to free love and sex, working for the demise of family and village life. Their slogans that khap is anti-development, antinational tell the tale perfectly.

By now none has the illusion, except the tonsured ones, about the basic character and role of political parties, including the so-called leftists, as faithful instruments of a state structure that serves the collective interests of corporate capital and reasons are both ideological as practical.

The tragedy with Communists on Khap The leftist parties and their cadre are pathologically against village life, taking agriculture as synonymous to feudalism and family as playground of patriarchal slavery, village as cesspool of conservatism. It seems they are faithful more to the then Law Minister for India when he bravely said so on 4 November, 1948 while presenting the draft of constitution than to Marxism.

They are not naive; their eagerness to find feudalism and patriarchy in rural families and villages testifies to only one explanation that the growth and consolidation of capitalism is their first love at the cost of people’s interest.

Unfortunately, leftists in India are what they agitate on the Khap question! It does not surprise.

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Khap Insiders know what this set of leaders are in fact. They are bending their energy to the full for changing rural mores in their own image and wish these villagers transform according to their script. For this, they have come up to provide an ideological aura to this campaign in search of centralised power for a modern state.

The tragedy with India communists of all hues in fact is larger than what they have been saying on Khap. It goes deeper. When talking about Khap they are merely exhibiting their philosophical predilections, without putting mind on objective analysis to arrive at conclusions and then presenting cohesive opinions on issues involved into a practice rural India is so deeply attached with.

Rhetoric apart, post-independence Indian communists/ socialists in fact have lived a political life of duality (different from dialectics!); they were found miserably short of communist thought rooted in Indian soil and remained busy throughout in fighting for the growth of capitalism basically, giving it a shining costume it does not deserve and doing everything they could to consolidate this system of exploitation and oppression that has gripped the nation with frightening tentacles around, including its degenerating mode of life and culture, while telling the nation that they are wedded to social transformation, which will free the people from expropriation and injustice. Let them deny the charge - without abuses and epithets if they can.

Their new found love for the Indian Constitution, with its supremacy over the people to lord over is merely one example to illustrate a larger tragedy of sorts. They know it was framed to facilitate capitalist growth and it is its over all thrust. They also know that people are suffering due to a system which gets sanctity from the present legal and constitutional frame. Armed with this knowledge asking the people to prove their fidelity as per constitutional scheme is telling them to get out of the way of this growth story. And (136)

Perceptions and Perspectives what is this growth story indeed of six decades, except misery, hunger, disease and oppression for the people while consolidating the strength of rapacious corporate capital for ruthless exploitation and work for an imperialist dream.

The commitment to Marxist principles of Indian Left and what they practise in fact is again a curious subject of much fascinating wisdom. One can understand their predicament on questions of politics in search of state power, when capitalism world over has proved more tricky for them on the question of capturing state power, but the bankruptcy of thought and action this section of opinion has shown on understanding rural India, is purely puerile to say it mildly.

Indian left does not agree that urban India represents a culture of force in favour of retrogressive Capital which is out to gobble up rural India by nasty means. It also does not agree that rural India represents honest Labour power that stands expropriated in the interest of capital. They see progress only through the womb of capitalism instead to deliver a just and equitable world for them to enjoy later in the day. This is indeed tragic and pathetic.

One can understand the non-left parties when these berate rural people for their emotional attachment to land they till, homes they adorn and love to regulate their own life. They are status quoits by faith. Nothing better is expected from the zealots of the coloured visions. They have squint in both eyes and are habitual to search gems out of barren pebble fields. But when these assumed leftists in general and the communists (Marxist) in particular too talk and act like status quoits, it may surprise many. Not us. We are insiders.

The reality from inside is grim what principles and practices Indian communists do have. Before the collapse of Soviet experiment, many of us were also playing the same old tunes of theory and practice that delivered only the same stinking old capitalist garbage with much ferocity.

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Khap Industrial spree, with public or private capital, necessarily produces individualism on both accounts. And individualism, per force, produces all evils a capitalist system is endowed with, including the commoditisation of sexuality and giving rise to corruption for greasing the rough wheels of exploitation for a smooth push.

This is the lesson of old Soviet experiment where communists worked on a flawed political economy on wrong premises and helped the growth of capitalism within former Soviet bloc despite state power being in the hands of communist party with all consequential ramifications to the disadvantage of working masses.

Let us recollect that the traditional Indian left forces are responsible to popularise terms like ‘feudal’ and ‘patriarchy’ in Indian context after Independence to provide credibility to their fanciful theory that free Indian state is semi-feudal, semi-colonial in character meaning thereby that the primary task in the circumstance remains to clear this moss with help from national capitalist class considered progressive by them on dubious grounds.

It is doubtful if people ever understood the real meaning and intent of this leadership that sidelined the issue of Indian revolution on this soil, while cunningly playing with this terminology. According to them the capitalist dispensation historically is best suited to undertake this responsibility, the progressive forces led by communists are duty bound first to help capitalist relations to develop in Indian society before conditions ripe for socialist change, goes the logic from these wise men. On strength of such formulation, the Indian communists have been collaborating with the exploitative system to survive so long without a blink.

In the classical understanding of materialist history of human development in European story, feudal represented a definite system of relationship in production and (138)

Perceptions and Perspectives distribution as lord v/s serfs that impedes the ‘next higher’ capitalist stage of development. Indian leftist leadership tragically dubbed everything feudal and conservative, which it considered a hindrance in the path of capitalist development. They did it without giving thought to what is beneficial for society and what is not, practically working as dutiful agent collaborators for consolidation of capitalism.

Similar is the story about the term patriarchy when any issue concerning women is under debate. They are putting females against males as if it is the basic divide in the country today without telling the fundamental source of oppression of females under capitalism that dehumanizes her even on matters sexual. They hardly realise that liberation zone for women on questions of sex, love and marriage starts somewhere else and salvation does not lie in Jean P. Sartre brand of philosophy on freedom of choice which is at the heart of this current campaign being sponsored by corporate world in its over-zeal for a new bliss in sex industry, employing media to its benefit, as it had done in America with the help of women liberation movement [Women Lib] after two world wars in twentieth century to counter the effects of ruin hoping to tide over by utilising cheap female labour that this movement made it easily available on the streets, freeing women from families with such concepts as singular identity, dependence syndrome etc. Indian lefts, including assumed communists are doing likewise here.

They are guilty of misusing these terms from social history for a pre-determined object.

The logic of fighting feudal remnants to strengthen capitalist growth as prelude to socialist movement in India proved a useful smoke screen for strengthening of capitalism and capitalist system to new cliffs of highly centralised state power – coercive, legal, executive and judicial for the people to bear. To justify their wrong prognosis, the leftists have been inventing time and again feudal elements as false (139)

Khap enemies here and there to provide an ideological alibi for their support to capitalist growth instead. Experience so far of over six decades in India and over seven decades elsewhere tell eloquently that it is a thoroughly flawed philosophy of opportunism and deception.

When Indian communists find feudal and conservative forces residing in every crevice of rural life including rural families, their community practices, their social and community institutions it sends a signal that these gentlemen are craving for a still higher centralisation of state power in the country to hit wrong targets, though all levers of action are apparently to remain in the hands of a state establishment that has merged its identity with the corporate capital working at the mesmerising instance of American rulers.

It is no communism. It cannot be so in 21st. century India. One should refrain to prescribe path of deliverance for other nations. What these gentlemen have been preaching can at best reflect economic or historical determinism, with no relation to the reality on the ground where people dream to live and smell the fragrance of their labour in peace.

On Khap question the difference between non-left and left parties was visible only on electoral calculations. Leftists do calculate for choosing caste and class configurations on issues. They do not care about catching votes simply because they have nothing to lose or gain on this account on pan India level, while non-left parties cannot afford to annoy rural India directly; so these people talked with tongue in cheek or at times glibly on such issues. But the leftists did their worst to hit the village life. Their eye is always on recruiting disgruntled cadre and damning the community.

At least for those who understand Indian leftists from within, there is nothing surprising when these gentlemen are exhibiting their new found faith in professional courts and official Panchayats. Likewise, when they tend emotionally to eulogise the present Constitution of India as (140)

Perceptions and Perspectives something sacrosanct as a scripture to provide fidelity test of any action or institution, while out to berate Khaps, is really amusing. One may recall that once they were the first to declare their intent to wreck this bourgeois document (Constitution) from within if chance places them in power by utilising it, though they did nothing like it later. Now they are the loudest to ask Khaps to prove their constitutional status and strained every nerve to get these to be legally banned for being anti-development and conservative.

Let us see them a bit more closely. Forget for a moment about the shallow understanding of communist parties of any kind working in the country at this stage regarding the political economy and the corresponding superstructure of feudalism, capitalism and socialism. Let us watch them how they are behaving while working in and outside Parliament.

The leadership of communist parties fancifully describe India as an under-developed semi-colonial and semi-feudal state ever since independence, while they are working with its superstructure that is working out to become a world power. These parties were seen advising the same state structure in Parliament and outside as how best to do the job! It is a mystery that despite their labours on this count during past six decades the position of semi-feudal remnants seems to have remained intact; the same formulation is ruling its activities since then, while the capitalist growth in the country has attained a globalised level of strength.

By the way, who benefitted from this ideological muddle, except the corporate capital and the state that rule the country while communists/socialists stand marginalised?

To become a world power today is nothing but to aspire for turning the country into an imperialist one for the sake of its corporate capital and capture as wide a market as possible, while grabbing resources in other countries for super profits, which the Indian state is facilitating for long.

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Khap It cannot do it as a semi-colonial, semi-feudal state. Only a developed capitalist country after achieving a definite level of relative maturity can aspire to be one. What is progressive with the capitalist class today by the way? They are finding good tails in a bad creature.

In fact, by raising the questions of female oppression Indian communists are taking the fight into families and by making sex and sexuality as issues of prime importance before the mass movements cunningly doing a grand job in the defence of capitalism by diverting the energies of the people from fighting their battle on real issues of life at a time when the present system stands exposed.

Their attitude is distressingly similar to their Italians, French and American friends on questions of love, marriage and sex; full with madness that borders around pleading for upper class fad of live-in relationship as a replacement and still they think Indian ‘proletariat’ will accept them as saviours. The level of respect people used to have for Indian communists during the period of freedom struggle for their sacrifices, dedication to the cause and a restrained way of life on these aspects of social life has evaporated largely because of their present muddle.

Left parties proclaim their fidelity for socialism and commitment to communism while, one can find them busy in strengthening capitalism on the premise that India has to be cleared of feudal moss first. In the process, they tend to forget that for clearing this moss and strengthen capitalism first, their advocacy leads them to work for consolidating individualism of the worst kind and consequently dissolving the institution of family as a fountain head of communitarian way of life at grass root level’.

Do the communist workers understand this politics of their respective leadership where they are leading them to?

Probably, do not. The level of regimentation of thought, as (142)

Perceptions and Perspectives the single achievement of this leadership to keep the flock in tune, ensures this blindness.

Unfortunately when people reposed faith in the leftist movement, more so from those who swore by a scientific thought, for deliverance from the rapacious capitalist dominance they fell victim to clichĂŠs and taking mechanically that agriculture denotes backwardness and industrial life is a sure path of bliss which it was destined to fail man, leaving the important question of impact on social life to go to dogs.

Recently some khaps opined it is necessary to amend the archaic Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 that leaves option to marriage within the same Gotra and same village. At once retort came from a lady leader of CPM that the demand of khap is retrograde. Opposition to khaps is her trade mark by now and is most vociferous on sexual freedom.

Over her reaction, question came; how the opinion of khap is retrograde by the way? Was she not pleading by implication that sexual relations between brother and sister are progressive, unless one desires to impose your own definition of brother and sister in rural context of Haryana?

If people start taking Marxist as followers of anarchic relationship in sex and marriage affairs, how wrong it will be?

Peasantry has its own reasons to define the relationship between brothers and sisters for it. Some powerful forces back in 1955 forced their own definition on peasants through Hindu Marriage Act of that year. They took the peasantry by ears on this count. Despite this Act, peasantry in large part of the country, at least totally in north zone, never followed such a prescription. And no one charged them of flouting this Act on this account either.

Now all of a sudden, when a war was declared on khap this provision was made a litmus test of progressive conduct in affairs so close to the mind and heart of peasantry.

Reaction was bound to be and it erupted with ferocity. It first surprised many that leftist parties started beating rural (143)

Khap areas with this stick too. Soon it was clear that CPM leaders and cadres are out on this issue with an decadent ideology.

This fringe among Marxist faith is out to utilise state power of bourgeoisie, including its legislative power, to force change in traditions and custom of agricultural communities, more so of Jats in Haryana, as is evident from its tirade against khap practice, with the hope that through this they will usher in industrial revolution of capitalist variety.

They take agriculture as synonymous to bankruptcy in potentiality, despite the shattering experiences in the Soviet experiment in building socialism based on industrial spree at the cost of agriculture and dispersal of family and its neighbourhood communities.

Left politics, perhaps, must have been more logical and rational than this irrationality on family question.

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Perceptions and Perspectives

12

The Media as Crusader

In the tirade against rural India, apart from political establishment, both ruling and opposition parties and their affiliates, the corporate media is a leading partner that works as opinion builder to make way for easy take over through the state establishment. It manipulates facts to manipulate minds of the people. It plays tricks and follows Goebellian method to turn untruth as the final truth. In the beginning of the tirade a few years back, the jihadists invented Khaps as murderers of lovelorn youngsters and a new term ‘honour’ killing entered currency in the media with much enthusiasm.

A full throated country wide campaign thereafter continued for years to put blame on Khap system for such murders, though in almost every case parents or close relatives were found involved. Still tirade against Khap remained the target. In created a word ‘honour’ to look reasonable for murders of those who play offensively obstinate towards family obligations. In fact such murders by enraged parents on extreme provocation are a defensive action to save collective interest of the family.

Since the object with the media is to paint the adversary in highly prejudiced colours they went to call these as honour killings. Some of the recent examples may suffice to show how media manipulates events in its campaign.

Take a case to see hyper active media in the game: an enraged father killed her daughter and a boy involved persistently in wayward behaviour, on 18 September, 2013 in a village, named Garnauthi. In concert, The Tribune, Chandigarh was quick to fish out khaps in the story to carry on its virulent tirade as ever, among national papers.

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Khap It promptly tagged headings like ‘Unconstitutional Khap” on 24th September, 2013 as if everything else on Indian soil is constitutional while “Indoctrinated people and Silence of a land” on 25th September, 2013 to its editorial pieces, followed by a full page kaleidoscope on 29th September, 2013 of highly biased reportage and carried an edit-page article by a known habitually khap-baiter on 30th September, 2013 followed by another piece of 11.10.2013 by a serving IPS officer from Haryana as part of its full-throated campaign which it is carrying religiously for a couple of years now.

As if to give it an academic flavour, it carried on 03.10.2013 a piece on the concept of honour in honour killings by another historian carrying the baggage of feminism on her sleeve (though, epithet honour is given to such murders by the media who proves more creative in such matters for a purpose, not by any academic). Another Hindi paper from New Delhi followed it on oppression of patriarchy from a retired police officer of Haryana cadre having strong leftist views of radical variety on women slavery.

The Garnauthi incident was a plain case involving two murders of wayward youths, with no other party to it either in planning or execution as per details out so far. The ingenuity of these gentlemen lies in the fact that role of Khap has been invented here in this case also to curse the ‘conservative’ attitude of village folks, though the torn shoe lies on their own wounded toes. Prejudice is so heavy and thick with them against village people that they foregot to apply mind for a rational analysis of events on purpose and with no regret.

The strategy seems to be: invent Khap where there is none to hit the perceived enemy, like President George Bush of America did for his Iraq adventure in the service of corporate capital on weapons of mass destruction, but with no regret to the level of destruction and murders involved.

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Perceptions and Perspectives Khap is a word in the hate-tirade they use to beat villagers, for meanings the crusaders themselves have attached to it. For them any and every assembly of village people qualifies to be labelled as Khap with glee!

The draft law from Law Commission for punishing Khap on honour killings also proposes the ‘assembly of people’ as its target! When one is faced with an imaginary enemy to beat a real target, all one does is to employ such a ploy as these gentlemen are resorting in case of Khap panchayat. It is a general rule with all traders in deceit.

A lady journalist with The Hindu, a CPM sympathiser has written a book on Manj-Babli affair for Penguin and used the same trick, deliberately or in ignorance, to beat the rural sense of right or wrong, talks about khap while reference is clearly to a village assembly. She talks about Gangaraj as leader of Khap and his actions in individual capacity find narration as khap decisions. It is a sinister trick to falsify events to one’s liking. In fact, this has been the practice of all rural baiters without exception. She documents that same Gangaraj was discharged by high Court of allegations ‘proved’ by the trial court.

Will CPM leaders and their sympathisers who charged Khap of complicity in the murder of Manoj and Babli all because of pre-supposed activities of Gangaraj in this case then apologise for maligning khaps? The lady journalist in her book did not express any such regret. Such is the level of intellectual honesty if the matter concerns Khap.

Similarly, all these elements have being making big issue about Mahapanchayat held on 13 April, 2010 at Kurukshetra and touted as evidence of complicity of khaps in such murders. It was not a khap meeting; it was not called by any khap. In fact, it was a meeting called by a monthly magazine (catering to the interests of a caste) to celebrate its day at Kurukshetra on that day. The organisers had spread (147)

Khap the message to attract attendance in a hall that the proposal for amendment to Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 will be discussed in a seminar on the occasion. On the eve of the event a press conference was also held to detail the agenda of the seminar. The banners of the magazine were quite visible in photos published in the media covering the event.

Since, the meeting came in the background of decision in Manoj-Babli case awarding death sentence the people converged, even beyond the capacity of organisers to handle and capacity of the small hall. How this conclave became Khap conclave only the journalists who covered the story with their little knowledge about khaps affairs know. The lady journalist as above obediently quoted it accordingly.

This Mahapanchayat turned out to be a big event where every shade of opinions and groups in khap affairs gathered there to exploit the issue at hand for sectarian ends and tussle broke to capture the stage where original organisers left the scene bewildered to save their skin. It was then a free for all to fish in muddy waters where political elements vied with each others to be on pages of the media. The media made it a khap Mahapanchayat where a proposal had come to collect money in support of those sentenced in Manoj-Babli affair and CPM got its logic extended against khaps. Panchayat denotes meeting in Hindi while Maha project one to be big.

But for media every meeting is khap meeting. Ludicrously.

After Muzaffarnagar riots, one of the original organiser journalist of Kurukshetra event called a meeting to condole the victims there from his particular biradari on 22 September, 2013 at Rohtak. Hardly 10-12 individuals attended, including a faction leader of his biradri khap. The meeting came in the background of Garnauthi murders by parents of the girl who wanted to marry a boy of the same village on 18.09.2013 in which no khap was involved. The media jumped upon this condolence meeting, turned it into a khap and the tirade against khaps was released with zeal.

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Perceptions and Perspectives

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Rural India under Siege

We said and repeat that the whole rural sector is under siege for long enough to make it crawl. The scheme worked, in the name of development that proved more elusive and destructive. In the process, country side is now more of a begging angel, despite bone breaking labour. Peasant economy is on the collapse while agriculture is made to feed industry to the full. Mid-day meals scheme for its loved ones is the mercy after robbery. Dance-lessons and competition from primary class onward is a training module for the new awaiting role. It is a dichotomy of sorts, but true.

Six decades of ruthless and insidious expropriation of rural India has no parallel in world history for its sweep; for certain reasons worst than even what Red Indians in America had to go through. The current phase of land grab campaign and mine-minerals occupation with state collaboration is intended to tighten the squeeze before the noose goes to breathe it out. The victim is disparaged lest retribution.

Rural India stands prejudiced. What was said about village on 4th November, 1948 in the Constituent Assembly on the strength of Macaulay education is being repeated, despite the powerful rebuttal it had received then. So deep is the prejudice towards rural India! Now, corporate media is doing the job for its masters. Virtually, the whole educated class is arraigned against it for the final blow.

Lest some misunderstand, facts must speak. When the new rulers after 1947 embarked upon industrial spree what was the source that had financed the enterprise? Surprisingly, (149)

Khap peasants and artisans in rural sector were made to do the job without acknowledgment. Post-second world war, India was as bankrupt as any other belligerent nation gasped, with hardly any capital to invest. British had left it with more debt burden to carry for years to come. Partition in addition made it virtually bleed. On empty pocket, country embarked on its march to industrialise quickly. How? Any guess!

The only sector remained with it to bank upon was agriculture. Insidious expropriation of rural economy was embarked upon with no mind to its victims. The rural population was cheated over its entitlement to finance their fanciful enterprise. Some bare facts: In contrast to the urbanite organised sector, a highly discriminatory criteria was invented to determine the rate of entitlements for unorganised sector workers, including family-labour of peasants. That robbed agriculture and made rural economy dependent on urban sector and unviable.

The result: One working unit at the lowest rung i.e. a class four employee in the organised sector cannot get on average less than10,000 rupees a month, per sixth pay commission while, the whole family of five units is supposed to live by rupees 390 a month for the unorganised sector. (for more detail watch how Minimum Support Price is fixed by a commission to rob agriculture economy of its resources) The Planning Commission is doing the job for it nicely.

And the World Bank is quite vigilant to oversee its job.

According to the mandarins of Agriculture Costs and Prices Commission, Indian farmer works only for 156 days a year as unskilled one to keep it at the lowest and suppressed level, though agriculture is one of the most skilled work one learns through lifetime. The entitlement for his family labour is calculated for this period while computing MSP for his products. This works out much below statutory minimum wage agriculture worker is supposed to get from him for a day’s work on his field for eight hour job.

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Perceptions and Perspectives One rough estimate tells a stunning story: on this account of entitlement alone nearly 7 lakh crores of rupees per year (nearly one crore per village on average) are extracted from agricultural economy each year to finance the urban sector. Another pathetic story is about compound interest on agricultural loans, which even British rulers had forbidden under two specific laws adopted during 1883-84.

Margret Kennedy in her treatise Inflation and Interest Free Money remarks that compound interest robs agriculture since its growth is destined to be mathematical in progression while compound interest was devised for industrial loans as per its geometrical growth. Burdening agriculture with compound interest was worse than usurers used to do earlier that siphoned off crores of rupees to urban sector each year.

Policy remained to raise price of inputs constantly and check prices of agriculture produce to make it bankrupt. Only on one account, nearly 3 Lakh ever-optimist peasants found cornered to commit suicide to save their honour. No economist ever told the country what crime has been committed in the name of development.

Millions have been ruined during these six decades on the development trail. While media is hyper active on any stray ‘honour; killing, but all its power of expression dries up when 3 lakh peasants have been forced to commit suicide all because of official policies. Peasants have paid the price for the enrichment of Indian corporate houses like Ambanies, Tatas and the likes to amass wealth that has given them sharp teethes enough to land in other countries as East India Company had done on Indian shores to loot, while native masses are forced to survive like beggars and lepers in the market of human deprivation. Like the British did, Indian establishment is posing as if these corporate houses are doing India a favour to be sharks in other lands. It makes the country a super power to live by pride in its strength as East India Company did to Britain in the past!

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Khap It cannot be overlooked that Corporate India has reached a state of such strength and weakness that it now needs foreign lands for its jaunts. It also needs Freudian fantasy and Pavlovian science to harness human sexuality, mainly female, so that it may work as a balm on the tired nerves of its over-worked employees for survival.

It is not mere coincidence that the question of free choice with due emphasis on individual liberty is sponsored, when the country has reached a definite level of industrial development with this sharp urge for corporate capital to collaborate with western corporate capital and attain the status of a super power. The corporate houses feel confident that their past labour is going to pay dividends now or never.

They feel emboldened enough to demolish every hurdle now openly and pointedly, legal, social or cultural to make it irretrievable. If village life is to be demolished and its life style swept away, now is the time for them to do it.

But, perhaps, they had not visualised that war between these two distinct cultures in Independent India would lead to so violent reactions as have occurred recently resulting in murders of wayward youngsters or unbending parents by their own near and dear kin on matters of traditional values of the community. This occurred because families exist within a community of shame and glory so important for man to relish or repent in its social milieu. It cannot be wished away so lightly, even if law wishes otherwise.

The surprise is because ‘murdering’ even the habitual offenders is not the rule among village communities. But normal are not the times now, apparently. It is a full-fledged war against rural India that was under siege for long and have reached a stage of zero tolerance. Such is the misfortune of hard working people in the rural areas that they are alone to face the onslaught.

Let us learn and beware......

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Perceptions and Perspectives

13

Sum - Up

India is free for over six decades from British rule.

Villages had the liberty to survive by their labour and allowed to live by their traditions and customs unchallenged while Khap practice with rural Haryana was never proclaimed from roof-tops as anti-national, antidevelopment ever during the early four decades of this period. It was a sort of peace with itself. No crusaders ever came out to teach our young generation about freedom of choice in matters of sex and sexuality, except when femalesex based industries (numbering no less than 25 at present) had started contributing heavily to the GDP as the unchallenged yardstick of notional progress, copying the wild West and forgetting the golden East even at the cost of national ego of super nationalists at convenience, for money!

Now, village life is turned upside down. Rural India is under siege. Its economy is being shattered and resources grabbed. Its culture and mores despised. You are not wanted in your own country to survive. Change or perish! And change according to the script offered. You are required to live for urbanisation agenda. The new philosophy ordains that dispossession of uncouth is a collateral damage to bear in the service of civilised world as fait accompli !!

It is really a riddle wrapped into an enigma that why the agenda of women liberation (WomenLib) of American genre, as distinct from old left variant, having existential slogans, had never been the forte of such liberal media and heavily financed NGO sector earlier when females were at disadvantage as is the evergreen faith now. Have these forces become more vibrant now? Seriously doubtful.

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Khap Such type of free-hold freedom was never preached earlier ever, except for the last two decades of liberal economy. It is not because these gentlemen have grown more democratic, rather the situation is in reverse gear. The democratic rights of the people are under tight leash of late; they have grown vary of the earlier version of democratic dispensation of their own make and feel very uneasy with democratic rights of the working people.

Clearly, these forces have an agenda now against the rural folks for their alleged backward and conservative outlook towards their own life simply because the ruling establishment has set a target to urbanise a big chunk of rural India rapidly for easy take over by corporate world and the media is acting on its behalf to clear the path by implanting a corresponding culture of crash individualism to take roots.

Who needs urbanisation of rural India and in whose interest?

The answer will lead to the evil design of black forces.

In hindsight, one thing can be unhesitatingly said that due notice was not taken of the danger inherent in the campaign from a few arrogant people that started just after independence creating prejudice against rural way of life dubbing it as a cesspool of caste, communalism and ignorance and rubbing village as an abode of conservative lazy lizards in contrast to city life. A similar relentless counter was the necessity to avoid the damage.

In simplicity the humble villager started believing the charge perhaps not realising the scheme of things planned against their very mode to be over-thrown for a sinister purpose to achieve. After six decades of a relentless effort, it has reached to the present situation of desperation.

The level of prejudice against rural India that has reached by now out of this campaign can be gauged when a retired Chief Justice of India, trained to see through things for truth, J.S. Verma presiding over a Committee on (154)

Perceptions and Perspectives Amendments to Criminal Laws set up against rapes etc recently finds it necessary to castigate Khaps in the same terms -tenor of abuse for honour killings as the corporate media, political class and the sponsored so-called ‘civil society’ are doing in concert for almost half a decade.

To pin down untruth, an application under RTI sought information from Haryana government about number of honour killings in the state from 1st January, 2001 to 31st December, 2011 by Khaps or on their bidding. All 23 police districts informed that there is not a single such case in the state during this period. It was peak period of media campaign against Khaps on honour killings and the fact was brought to Supreme Court for record. Still the charge continues to find place in media. Pretexts are many.

How untruth is made to prevail It is interesting to see how untruth worked on honour killings and maligning Khap practice in rural areas.

J. Verma Committee apparently did no investigation, no shuffling of facts, no evidence, no hearing of Khaps, but took paper clippings, bites from electronic media perhaps and a prejudiced view from a particular shade of political opinion on ‘feudal’ and ‘patriarchy’ to boot, as the material to prepare its report. It was in tearing hurry to beat other organs of state on efficiency, only for pinning khaps down!

Earlier, a Division Bench of Supreme Court, headed by Justice (retired by now) M. Katju brought in Khap question out of blue, while writing a judgement where it was not a subject for deliberation. He was apparently surcharged with media reports and wanted to tell his mind on the subject, so preferred to describe Khaps as barbaric, feudal and commented on its legality. Law Commission depended on media reports and opinion of Katju Bench as reference to claim objectivity for its conclusions, Justice Verma Committee on its part took Law Commission report on honour killings (155)

Khap as reference for authenticity while the media made its narrations about Khaps authentic on its ‘reliable’ sources and press releases from publicity hungry upstarts or vested interests to the crime for filing reports in tearing hurry to beat the deadlines. And a NGO working with Home Ministry and National Commission for Women files a PIL to issue directives to Khaps against honour killings without hearing them. Thus, went the vicious circle of ‘making truth out of untruth’ about Khaps and coloured the nation’s mind for a law to curb the democratic rights of rural people.

The unfortunate part was that affiliate women organisations of CPM are working over night to provide material for the media to launch a sinister campaign to build public opinion in concert with these forces against Khaps with a definite political agenda to modernise rural India!

It may be recalled here again that village is completely an autonomous unit in traditional Indian system of selfgovernance and Khap Bhaichara consists of more than one village and may comprise upto 360 villages to have a conclave for discharging agenda at hand. To call assembly of a village or part thereof as khap is ignorance or mischief.

Experienced elders of khap system have been zealously guarding the core of its conventions without favour or fear inviting their wrath on even minor deviations to rob off its core values. For example: after a historic Mahapanchayat on 7 March, 1911 which had adopted 28 resolutions at Barona, another conclave ten-eleven years later tried to repeat some resolutions that invited strong criticism in an immediate rejoinder by one of khap stalwarts, Ch. Piru Singh of Dahiya khap to his equally prominent elder for a wrong claim reported in Jat Gazette on 21 March, 1923 dubbed it for chicanery and false bravado. He castigated a conclave as ‘Sarv Khap’ or ‘Haryana Khap’ when there were only few khaps invited and attending. A khap is not a khap simply because someone claims it so, unless it fulfils the basic ingredients (156)

Perceptions and Perspectives that make it a khap. In the above reference, the comments from Chaudhry Piru Singh, is a good example to dispel distortions in ignorance or in mischief.

Let us recapitulate in brief: Let us recount for clarity sake: Khap is a system of self confidence. It is a practice with the people since man started living in as a settled community of its own with communitarian mores to sustain. Khap is Non-Centralised Polity. On its part it is a social system of self defence with the rural population to regulate its own life, at least in the areas which are its core concerns.

It is alleged that Khap is arbitrary in conduct and action where few rich people decide in the name of the people. It is an outrage against democracy, they say. If one know anything about rural India, the charge is motivated.

It was corporate media first that started alleging ‘fatwas from talibani’ khaps while castigating certain decisions/ opinions from khaps to make their campaign more pungent and hateful capitalising anti-muslim sentiments. It was a spectacle to watch the seasoned political leaders also resorting to such hateful terminology that smacks dirt communal language in essence. But when CPM leaders also started using fatwa word for describing unreasonable decisions of khaps in their view, it was more distressing. The lady from CPM who by now specialises in khap hatred is one but she can be ignored for her biased approach.

However, in articles and statements when these two words have found frequent use by left leaders and cadres in general the disease seems to be contagious without mind to the underhand message such conduct leaves behind.

Unfortunately, these people have their own notion about democracy, which stand emasculated by such interpretations as suits their sectarian interest. This is the story of six decades of representative democracy in the (157)

Khap country. For example they claim that once votes are cast, representatives declared elected, people have no right to direct them or ask questions till the term expires. In fact, some where a guilty mind works when such an absurd charge is made against Khap; it is the parliamentary system of theirs where a handful of resourceful leaders of political parties decide everything in the name of electors.

Khap is most democratic a system where an arbitrary dictation or rich voice does not work. To tackle issues at hand, it is within the purview of a concerned family first to resolve.

On failure, the matter goes to the Kutumbh. Thereafter, it is referred to community or Gotra Khaps for help. Similarly, on failure, Khap of Bhaichara intervenes on call. When the wisecracks of this variety seek to malign Khap by terming as kangaroo courts, motive is to malign and hit it with hatred.

Much has been made of a charge against Khaps that they take ludicrous decisions. The cat came out of the bag when it was alleged that Khaps, after declaring a marriage void, acted so crudely arbitrary asking married couples to become ‘brother and sister’ again in relationship! The argument itself was dramatic than logical. It betrays common sense and testifies ignorance about rural idioms and lacks an understanding of its life itself.

When a professional court of British vintage presided over by a paid person whom elites presume is blessed with superior wisdom, grants divorce and declares the concerned couple no longer husband and wife; with conjugal rights no longer valid after divorce, what remains the nature of relationship between such a former husband and former wife? Husband and wife? Bua-Phupha, Mother-son? No. Brother-sister? Yes, anything but wife; only because they cannot exercise legitimate sexual relationship any longer.

If it is called divorce by an official court, our wise men are very happy. But if ‘rustics’ of rural origin happen to call (158)

Perceptions and Perspectives divorce as brother-sister relationship instead, the whole rural world turns a complete disaster in the eyes of these gentlemen, including the learned judges sitting in higher echelons of Judicature so keen to declare Khaps illegal and unconstitutional, as a shame to civilised world. Such is the bias against rural India with the elites.

A Decisive War Apparently, the Khap system has ultimately come now into conflict with the formal institutions of State over the issues of family and community relations when till recently both co-existed without much crossing each other’s path.

Khap system of both the categories has been quite alive since days immemorial and nobody ever took adverse notice of it.

Once British rulers did what they could to replace Khap

by Zail in 1879 and other formal structures of their own, like civil and criminal courts, police and revenue departments in the interest of governance, along with proclaiming the so-called Principal of Eminent Domain, meaning thereby supremacy of the rulers, to control the natural resources of this country for their own imperial interests.

The state structure in free India is now keen to harness this colonial principle to be intrusive and peep in even the precincts of family relationships between parents and their siblings, which the British masters could not dare to do.

Khaps were never found wanting on subjects of their social interests too. These played crucial role in social reforms in the past at important junctures and mustered acceptability in the region. In living memory the Mahapanchayat at Barona on 7 March, 1911 heralded a few unconventional reforms in the community and was followed many efforts in the same direction. Suddenly these institutions have come under attack for indulging in the same type of activities i.e. exercising constitutionally recognised right of assembly, interaction and mediation in family disputes of community (159)

Khap interests! The practice is not confined to one caste or religion either. Since there is no such practice with the urbanites, rural India is sought to be penalised for their community practice merely to push urban agenda on the community conscious rural people through sheer force of state apparatus, including legislative and the executive.

Curiously, the demand for banning Gotra Khaps has become shrill when, under this context of siege, khaps reacted against wayward activities of their own wards indulging in delinquent and uncivilised behaviour. In effect these self styled champions of free love are out to claim a right that does not exist in the society. In any case, such a delinquent conduct cannot be the norm in a context of social life to sustain with any reasonable sense of prudence.

Ludicrous is the effort to justify elopement from their families for ‘love marriage’ as a sure ladder for modernity to attain. For love, obligation to parents and family is quite disposable value of feudal vantage to them, leading to such bizarre incidents like what happened in Kabulpur village.

To the gullible, girl and the boy were quite modern in the making but nonetheless a new phenomenon of devastating consequence to the emotions nurtured by rural India.

The tirade No one in senses can cross the sanctity of relationship between brother and sister or mother and son. None can justify the imprudent activities of some youngsters bordering on criminality, which goes to demolish social cohesion in trail. Such action does recoil in course of time -tomorrow if not today. History is the best teacher in such matters , if anyone has the wish to learn. Freedom in sexual relations cannot be absolute; it has to be subscribed social morality.

One aspect is noteworthy: despite stringent actions by law courts in such cases of murders in recent years, such occurrences did not subside. Unfortunately, the phenomenon (160)

Perceptions and Perspectives was not studied that deterrent law is not the answer in such cases of murders. Still, cases of defiance of family code for the sake of sexual depravity and elopements with a rising urge for self in command, especially among educated rural youths are on the increase.

Surely, there is no mystery about it. The present situation is the natural outcome of a concerted move to induct alien mores and cultural shift duly built assiduously slowly and surely in our society through various means at the disposal of the resourceful class. After a laborious effort of almost six decades, crash individualism has gained sufficient currency in the society to strike at the roots of indigenous cultural mode and its value system to make way for a mode to take roots. And something like naktavad is working.

There goes a tale: accidently one fellow got his nose snapped. Continuously teased as Nakta (shameless), he devised a stratagem to get over this problem by bragging that God has blessed him by presence in his abode. Curiosity took many more to him for blessings from God. He told that it is possible only if one’s nose is chopped. When another fool followed his advice and came to complain that God has not blessed despite being a Nakta as advised, the primer told that you also tell others that God has now blessed him; otherwise people will tease you to hell. In most cases, as a rule crusaders find followers in train to give company.

The timing of the recent tirade against village life and its political economy fully tallies with the collective interest of corporate world that is out to tighten its grip over people and community resources, including human talents. Young males and females are viewed as special zones of interest by them for a lucrative business. In this fast game rural India is considered as big speed-breaker to be removed as early as possible. The tirade throws up many lessons to learn and look both inward and outward to investigate and save the nation and its future generation from humiliation.

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Khap Centralised Polity The first important conclusion from this crusade against Khap is about the basic character of modern state worldwide.

It is an armed instrument of expropriation for the benefit of the corporate capital. Indian state also has gone over by now completely to the camp of corporate capital- native and foreign both with a strong urge to attain an emerging imperialist agenda at hand. It is an aspiring imperialist entity in hurry and has thrown away its legacy of struggle for Independence from British slavery. In pursuance it nurtures centralised polity keen to reconstruct the requisite cultural mould as against the time tested ethos of its own social life.

The next lesson that can be drawn from this crusade is the anti-people character of the entire political establishment in the country. Political parties and their leaders of all hues are working to maintain the present state structure that serves the forces inimical to the interests of rural India.

Another important lesson to learn from history is for the people to be vigilant about its future and a future safe for the coming generations. Do not believe the myths. Do not believe the political class. Do not aspire to become rulers.

Safeguard your social institutions from decay and conspiracies. Keep the initiative alive for collective action to advance the cause of a rational way of life in peace and plenty with a right to self-governance.

Assertion by the people is the only way for direct democracy where they exercise their own wisdom to govern themselves with no concept of superior Authority.

Preservation of bhaichara and equity is essential component of a civilised existence. Let us discard the very concept of representative democracy that disbelieves the people and believes only its system of expropriation and oppression. It is important to move forward and clean our own stables too of the moss wherever it has set in for want of vigilance. No other viable alternative is at hand.

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Perceptions and Perspectives For rural India, which is to go by the only available strength of traditional family farming with its collective labour and collective consumption is its core; ‘Bhaichara’ is irreplaceable. Khap is the best form available of democracy, with no bar to share opinions with others, even the adversary of a known kind, having direct participation of the population without any barrier of any sort, and none to dictate. To act otherwise, is against the very grains of Khap system and its ethos.

Let us realise that village life symbolises a life in cohesion and harmony. All that disturbs its serenity must be guarded against consciously and zealously with prudence. If khap is accepted as an institution, it becomes an object of factional fight to gain control by vested interests entrenched in this time of market competition, which sadly is made today by many upstarts in ambitious politics.

Khap has a great potentiality to let the humanity survive and survive with peace, dignity, free from coercion and expropriation, provided this system is freed from features it has acquired of late from alien systems like electoral politics.

Khap is a dependable alternative to the centralised state if corporate capital is made to surrender and people take initiative to refine it fit for present times. Gotra Khap on the other hand is a powerful mechanism with the families and their concerned communities to self regulate their family life. Important factor in its favour is that People need a change from the present one. To live a useful life with peace, a different world is necessary to have. Can we afford to ignore the writing on the wall?

Well, at our common peril.

End

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Khap References: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120727/edit.htm#6 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/world/asia/ 05india.html?_r=2HYPERLINK “http://www.nytimes.com/ 2011/06/05/world/asia/ 05india.html?_r=2&ref=jimyardley&pagewanted=all”&HYPERLINK “http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/world/asia/ 05india.html?_r=2&ref=jimyardley&pagewanted=all”ref=jimyardleyHYPERLINK “http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/world/asia/ 05india.html?_r=2&ref=jimyardley&pagewanted=all”&HYPERLINK “http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/world/asia/ 05india.html?_r=2&ref=jimyardley&pagewanted=all”pagewanted=all http://www.countercurrents.org/rawat181012.htm 18.11.2012 http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-purposes-oftradition/1016714/ 15.10.2012 http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/07/16/india-prosecuterampant-honor-killings Human Rights Watch http://indialawyers.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/khappanchayat-signs-of-desperation/ Jagmati Sangwan in Hindu http://www.sacw.net/article521.html South Asia Citizens Web on Khap http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-09-08/india/ 28084729_1_khap-panchayat-gotra-siwah http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/khappanchayats-no-room-for-a-parallel-justice-systemcomment_100362369.html Ranjna Kumari http://www.echarcha.com/forum/archive/index.php/t32863.html http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2617/stories/ 20090828261701700.htm Ranbir Singh http://creative.sulekha.com/khap-panchayats-and-gotraissues-what-should-be-done_471604_blog

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Perceptions and Perspectives http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2608/stories/ 20090424260804600.htm Tamil Nadu http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2617/stories/ 20090828261700400.htm http://in.news.yahoo.com/dishom-manjhi-supreme-courtsantal-society-073417787.htmlTribal Manjhi Related readings • Constituent Assembly Debates, Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi-1.

• 50 years of Anti-Panchayat Raj , Sahyog Pustak Kuteer, Nagli rajapur, Nizamudin East, New Delhi-13.

• Hind Swaraj, Navjivan Press, Varanasi.

• Self-Rule Laws, MP, 1998, Sahyog Pustak Kuteer, Nagli rajapur ,New Delhi-13.

• The Spirit and form of Indian Polity, Aurbindo Ghosh.

• Uttarbharat Ke Jataon Ki Shashan Vyawastha, M.C Pradhan, 1990, AI Jat Mahasabha, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi.

• Family, Private property and the State, F. Engels.

• Marx on Malthus, PPH, New Delhi.

• Grapes of Wrath-John Steinbeck • Confessions of an Economic Hitman- John Perkins.

• Man’s Worldly Goods- Leo Huberman.

• Manoj-Babli, A Hate Story by Chander Suta Dogra. Penguin Books, India, 2013. A chronicle of prosecutors file in the trial court plus the narration from mother-sister of Manoj and CPM philosophy of women liberation movement in India currently

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Khap ANNEX-I Theodore Roosevelt on America’s own disposable Indians and their Land Theodore Roosevelt, Chapter I: Ranching in the Bad Lands, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman, 1885 I suppose I should be ashamed to say that I take the Western view of the Indian. I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every ten are, and I shouldn’t like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth.

The most vicious cowboy has more moral principle than the average Indian. Turn three hundred low families of New York into New Jersey, support them for fifty years in vicious idleness, and you will have some idea of what the Indians are. Reckless, revengeful, fiendishly cruel, they rob and murder, not the cowboys, who can take care of themselves, but the defenceless, lone settlers on the plains. As for the soldiers, an Indian chief once asked Sheridan for a cannon. “What! Do you want to kill my soldiers with it?” asked the general. “No,” replied the chief, “want to kill the cowboy; kill soldier with a club.” Theodore Roosevelt, speech, January 1886 Rob’s comment: Roosevelt’s The Winning of the West contains several false or unsupported claims. Among them: That the US was “generous” to the Indians, paying them many times what their land was worth. That the Indians broke as many treaties as the white men did. That they broke treaties at all without provocation. That just and honorable nations can operate by breaking treaties whenever they choose. That international law and morality don’t apply to indigenous people. His claim in Hunting Trips of a Ranchman is also problematical. The “western” (i.e. Plains) Indians may have been nomadic, but what about all the Indians west of the Rockies and east of the Mississippi? What is Roosevelt’s rationale for taking their land? In Hunting Trips Roosevelt doesn’t offer a rationale, but you can imagine what he’d say. He made it clear in The Winning of the West that any excuse would suffice. If the Indians were nomadic, they didn’t own the land. If they were settled, they didn’t deserve the land. If they signed treaties giving them legal ownership, the US had the right to abrogate the treaties whenever circumstances change.

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Perceptions and Perspectives Annex-II Self-sketch At 17, while a student, I had joined the communist ranks. It was in November, 1952. Family background was enough to keep away from idol-worship. When a sudden logic for the personalitycult of Stalin was thrown it did not appeal to us. Thereafter, the Communist Party of India, in 1956, sought to change tack on certain fundamental issues. That astounded our young minds and it could not satisfy the searching queries. The splits since 1964 bewildered us more. Stepped into journalistic activities in May, 1966 with Tehrik H/F and other Hindi/ English publications thereafter. It was a turbulent period. But all these factions within the known communist formations failed to answer the task and proved wanting on basic issues of theory and practice. Later, in the early part of 1969 it was an incidental introduction to Socialist Unity Centre as the ‘only genuine communist party’ in Indian soil that brought a few of us to its fold after a series of discussion on important issues of principle that troubled all like us at the time.

At the national level, I was inducted to work in it’s trade union body in later part of 1969; elected me as one of the vice-presidents and later in 1985 as a member to it’s secretariat. In 1985, I was inducted to work in the newly floated Peasants and Workers organization (AIKKMS) as it’s General Secretary apart from another front floated in 1983 to work on Democratic Rights (CPDRS) as the General Secretary, while retired Justice VR Krishna Iyer was elected as the President. In the party, I was elected first as member of it’s National Control Commission in 1988 and later it’s Chairperson. While engaged in organisational activities, certain features were marked that did not square with the claim in theory of this party. Inner-struggle for almost a year proved fruitless. In the meantime, the collapse of soviet experiment in building socialism was another important reason to look afresh into the whole range of related questions in theory and practice, specifically the relevant mode of production for the society. The relevance of industrial mode vis-a-vis agriculture came up for scrutiny. We as group decided to seek answers for the fresh situation and say goodbye to SUC and search for better course of philosophical approach in life. Resultantly, we stand firm by rural India in its struggle to face the present turmoil.

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Khap

The Book The subject of this study centres some questions that came up for scrutiny in India. But these have relevance for all nations. In fact, the study is a treatise on alternate mode of production and distribution relations to what humanity is tied at present.

During its long period of Independence struggle and immediately thereafter a serious debate raged throughout (read Constituent Assembly Debates for detailed reference) what shape the country is to take for good governance. In the given circumstance the country was destined to be a federation of its constituents with high degree of autonomy to govern its internal life. However, situation so conspired that a strong structure at the centre with a strong tendency to a centralised polity was thrust upon the newly free nation with a seeming federal structure. It has led to many disturbing features to emerge during almost seven decades of its functioning with lacerating wounds all around. By now it is troubled nation. At its present stage of development, the ruling corporate capital is pushing the country to a highly regimented state for governance to serve its emerging imperialist agenda. To fulfil the agenda of taking over rural India, corporate capital in collaboration with a powerful media at its command and obliging state structure, the fresh attack on the very life style of rural India hitting at tthe very collective system to govern its internal life in the villages. Its Khap system came under severe attack.

The book is a small effort to answer some of the important aspects in the raging debate.

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