Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, on Friday, 10 January, backed the khap panchayats' stand against marriages between people who come the same gotra citing "scientific reasons".
Gotra refers to a clan which claims the lineage from the same ancient ancestor.
NDTV quoted Khattar as saying, "It has been scientifically proven that same gotra marriages, which are opposed by Khap panchayats, should not happen. It is a belief in villages and Khap panchayats that there is a relationship of brother and sister (between men and women of same gotra). If we conduct ourselves according it, it has an impact on society."
While he did not clarify the scientific reasoning, in the press conference on women's safety which was held in Panchkula, Khattar seemed to suggest that marriages between the same gotra would encourage men to commit crimes against women.
"If we conduct ourselves like this, people who commit such types of crimes (against women) will think they should not commit such crimes," he said.
The khap panchayats which are the state-appointed village councils have been seeking for an amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act to prohibit same-gotra marriages. In several instances the khaps have suggested harsh punishments for those who they found "guilty".
However, to address incidents of honour killings, the Supreme Court had said that nobody within or outside the family has the right to interfere in the marriages between two consenting adults.
Khattar who won his second term as the Chief Minister in Haryana is no stranger to controversies. Earlier in 2018, he had said that women had the propensity to file rape cases to get back at their ex-boyfriends.
"The biggest concern is that, in 80 to 90 percent of rape and eve-teasing cases the accused and the victim know each other. In many cases, they know each other for a long time and, on one day, when there is an argument (between them over some issue)... an FIR is lodged, saying: 'He has raped me'," Khattar had said.
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