Khap ultimatum on same-gotra marriages

Kurukshetra, August 30

Demanding an amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act on banning marriage between people from the same village and same gotra, besides other social and farmers-related issues, the Rashtriya Sarva Khap Jan Kalyan Manch Kisan Sangathan served one-month’s ultimatum on the state government and threatened to launch an agitation if the demands were not met.

Representatives of various khap panchayats, farmer unions and social organisations, led by the national president of the manch and national convener of Kandela Khap, Tek Ram Kandela, had gathered at the Jat dharmashala in Kurukshetra.

Kandela said, “We constituted a 21-member committee and discussed various long-pending issues during the Mahapanchayat today. We demand a ban on marriages between people from the same gotra and within the same village, legal guarantee of MSP, loan waiver for farmers and labourers, compensation for farmers who suffered losses due to rain and flood and implementation of the Swaminathan report.”