Nogama khap lifts ban on marriage between two ‘brotherly’ gotras

Tribune News Service

Hisar, December 17

Clearing the air over the fate of a newly-wed couple, the Nogama khap panchayat today approved the marriage and also paved the way for matrimonial ties between Bura and Sanga gotras.

The khap panchayat waived the three-century-old norm banning the marriage of a Bura gotra girl with a Sanga gotra boy in nine villages of the Nogama khap. The villages are Sulkhani, Ghiray, Dhand, Khokha, Khanpur, Kharkari, Badhawar, Sidhar and Rajli.

Announcing the climbdown on the rigid norms at a meeting in Rajli village of the district today, the Nogama khap pradhan Har Naryana Bura said this was the end of a three-century-old relationship of bhaichara (brotherhood) with Sulkhani village. “Now onwards, the matrimonial ties are open between the Sanga and Bura gotras. The Sanga boy can get married to a Bura gotra girl while Bura gotra boys of eight villages (there is no Bura gotra resident in Sulkhani village) can marry Sanga gotra girls”.

The panchayat also approved the marriage of Naveen Sanga with a girl of Bura gotra hailing from Kaithal district. Naveen, an auditor at the CAG office in Guwahati, got married to Babita, a banker at Haryana Gramin Bank posted in Guhla Chika in Kaithal. Naveen’s father, Balwant Sanga, is a govt schoolteacher.

Balwant who attended today’s meeting welcomed the relaxation in the social norms. “I was not even aware of any such norm that prohibits the marriage. The controversy erupted only after the marriage when some persons of Bura gotra raised an objection. I welcome the khap decision to approve the marriage and relax old norms.

Earlier, the khap had issued a diktat for social boycott of Balwant’s family for violating the social norms. The khap’s boycott diktat is also rendered inapplicable following the new decision to approve such marriages.

Earlier, the Satrol khap had also given relaxation in its social norms by lifting the ban on tabooed relationship in several villages under its influence in Narnaund block of the district. Later, another group of five villages –Panchgami- opened the matrimonial ties with neighbouring Megalpur village in Narwala block of Jind district.